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, …

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 …

Ragoût

As soon the days start to get colder, ragout makes its appearance  at home. I like it because it is easy to cook, I just put everything in the pressure cooker and basically forget about it for the next 30 to 40 minutes, and so heartwarming. In Panama we have a similar recipe, it is call …

Neopanamax: Pesada de Nance

  After almost four weeks of vacation in Panama, I came back recharged and full of ideas and Panamanian recipes to publish here at BlueJellybeans. The first recipe is one that perhaps only could be made while in Panama, because its main ingredient is Nance, a small yellow fruit native of Panama and other tropical …

Black beans guacho (wet rice)

Today’s recipe is one that was missing from my blog if it really is one to collet Panamanian cuisine. It is one of the most clear expressions of the humble diet among the families that live in the countryside in Panama. It isn’t the prettiest, but it doesn’t have many ingredients, it taste good and …

Mondongo, Panamanian tripe stew

Cow tripe... it sounds kind of weird, I know, but trust me, it is such a delicious dish... I grew up eating this food; my grandma, aunt and mother (the women at my childhood home) were never shy to introduce us, los niños, to the traditional cooking from their childhood. My grandma was born in …

Guacho de pollo — Chicken wet rice

Guacho de pollo Chicken wet rice Last Saturday we celebrated the 496 anniversary of the foundation of Panama “La vieja” (the old). It was founded on August 15, 1519 by Pedro Arias Dávila and other 100 inhabitants. At the time, it was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Ocean, replacing the two cities …

French style onion soup

These photographs have been “sitting” in my computer for weeks, waiting to be posted alongside a clever and enticingly written post. Well, good luck with that! 😉 Anyway, here it is. I hope that now those delicious caramelized onions will stop yelling at me that they were born to be published every time I walk …

Madrilenian stew

The origins of the cocido are uncertain, but most sources agree that probably it was created during the Middle Ages as an evolution of the Sephardic dish adafina or maybe of the olla podrida manchega (potpourri). Following the first line, long cooking dishes were indispensable for Jews as they allowed hearty meals during Shabbat. These …

Mama Elsa’s lentils soup

Today would have been the 88th birthday of my grandmother, Mamá Elsa. To honor her memory, I'm re-posting this recipe that brings so many memories from my childhood. This is the way she used to do it, and this is the way I like it! This is for you, Mama. Ingredients 500 grams of lentils …