My mother’s side of the family is from Darién and Colombia. My grandmother, Mama Elsa, was born in Jaqué, a little village located on the Pacific coast at the mouth of the Jaqué River. Due to the Darién Gap of the Pan American Highway, for many years the only way to get there was by…
Category: Panamanian recipes
Pumpkin flan
Hi, how are you doing? Today’s recipe is very simple, perfect for this time of year when pumpkin is the star. After Halloween and while getting ready for thanksgiving, this flan is ideal as a final touch for any dinner or family meal. The crystallized lemon is a plus of decoration and flavor, and…
Panamanian Johnnycakes
My most recent incursion into the Panamanian cuisine are these delicious johnny cakes or journey cakes. My mother had already told me about them before, but I’ve never tried them and have to confess that I could not stop eating them. They are typical from the province of Bocas del Toro, one of the most…
Prawns with recao verde cream
Today’s recipe tastes like Panama. I’m quite sure that if you are Panamanian, when you try it, you’ll give me the reason. When I was a child and living in Panama, the recao verde was bought at “Sr. Santos”, in the vegetable stall on the corner of my street. Many years later, the stall is still there,…
Rice with pineapple croquettes
In Panama rice is like bread in Spain. It is present in many of our recipes, either as a main dish or a side, and obviously there are desserts too. Rice with pineapple is a fantastic way to use a part of this fruit that we would otherwise being thrown away. To make this delicious…
Croquetas de arroz con piña
En Panamá el arroz es como el pan en España. Está presente en muchísimas de nuestras recetas, ya sea como principal o acompañamiento, y obviamente no pueden faltar los postres en la lista. El arroz con piña es una manera fantástica de aprovecha una parte de la piña que de otro modo tiraríamos a la basura. Para…
Fish head soup
When I was little girl one of my least favorite dishes was the fish head soup; but my mom, auntie and grandma used to say that it was good for our brain, so during school time my brothers, cousins and I will have to eat it quite often… Time gave them the reason, cause as…
Egg braided bread
Merry Christmas! Here is a sneak peek into our Christmas Eve dinner. We had prawns and foie gras as starters, then turkey with ciabatta and roasted chestnuts stuffing (for the vegan in the family I made a delicious sweet potato curry) and an apple tart (pie) for dessert. Everything was delicious, the family was happy, we sang…
Octopus ceviche two ways
This summer in Panama I got the chance to enjoy a marvelous dinner at El Trapiche a Panamanian cuisine restaurant very popular among tourist and locals as well, which is always a good sign. There I ate a classic menu with fried everything…and a corvina ceviche. Everything was delicious as expected. But lately is fashion…
Chicken rolls with spicy tamarind sauce
One of the things that I brought from Panamá this summer was tamarind pulp. I know that I can buy tamarind here in Madrid but it is so expensive…Besides, it was a present from my mom, so what’s not to like! Normally the first thing that comes into mind with tamarind are sweets. You can…
