Colombia has many things to seduce: a vast range of traditional recipes from all regions, but also new trends that use typical products to create innovative dishes. It’s said that one of the strategies for making someone succumb is to prepare good food. as the popular saying goes, « barriga llena, corazón contento » – when the belly is full, the heart is content – « seduce with taste ». Typical Colombian cuisine is as diverse as its climate, landscapes and cultural manifestations, for in addition to the fertility of its land, which produces everything, there is also the boundless imagination of expert chefs who are constantly creating new recipes.
Traditional Colombian dishes
Many well-known dishes, such as bandeja paisa or ajiaco santafereño, are specially prepared in their place of origin, with the precise ingredients, quantities, setting, utensils and final decoration of the dish.
Bandeja paisa
The bandeja paisa, for example, is typical of the department of Antioquia and the surrounding area, and its main ingredient is the beans grown in the region. Colombia is the leading producer of beans in the Andean zone, and it’s the leading national consumer product.
Ajiaco santafereñoAjiaco santafereño, typical of Colombia’s interior, is a soup made from several varieties of potato grown in the highlands of Cundinamarca and Boyaca, which also contains guascas [aromatic herbs], corn and local peasant chicken.
PataconPatacon is probably Colombia’s most popular recipe. These are pieces of green plantain that are flattened and then fried. Served as an appetizer or side dish, they can be found all over the country. The difference from one region to another lies in the shape of the Patacon: sometimes small and round, oval and thick, thin and large… What’s certain is that you’ll eat them with all the country’s typical dishes!
The art of gastronomy has travelled with the cooks, and it is now possible to find a wide variety of dishes from all regions, in the cities and in the countryside. Tourists are pleasantly surprised by the diversity and richness of the typical cuisine, which is also spread by Colombians living abroad, who are true ambassadors of Colombian culture and traditions.
Colombian flavors in contemporary cuisine
The imagination of Colombian cooks is astonishing, as they are constantly consulting and researching history and ingredients in order to always create new dishes that will captivate you.Julián Gómez Simonds, an experienced young chef, is a professional who is constantly working on the creation of new recipes using flavors and ingredients native to Colombia, to achieve quite surprising textures, colors and shapes.
gómez and Alejandro Olaya carried out fieldwork and research throughout Colombia, which enabled them to learn about the strategies, methods and resources available and thus create the new menu for the Habemus Papa restaurant in Bogotá’s Usaquén district. Olaya, the manager, says that this experience helped them to start a revolution in Colombian cuisine by preparing recipes that recall the taste of the regions, but which do not replace traditional menus. They have thus created cabrito [goat] peasant pie; Caribbean-flavored grouper; or Guapi palms in three steps.
« These dishes are an example of how to use the flavors and resources available in all regions of the country, to create authentic Colombian dishes with a more modern twist, » says Gómez, the creative chef who, in 2007, represented Colombia at a cultural and gastronomic event as part of the Guadalajara International Book Fair.
Cabrito pie is a recipe reminiscent of the Santander department, as it uses the region’s symbolic ingredient (cabrito), served with a special potato tortilla [omelette]. The grouper is a fusion of Caribbean seafood, fried banana, yam and coconut, all traditional ingredients of coastal cuisine. Guapi palms are mixed with seafood and cod mashed potato, traditional products of the Pacific coast in the department of Cauca.
As well as enriching the national cuisine, these dishes become export products, helping to position Colombian cuisine among the most sought-after internationally, thanks to its flavor and presentation.
Tasting contemporary Colombian recipes is like establishing a link that evokes and transports us to the interior of its diverse and beautiful regions. They lead us along the road of taste and imagination to the kitchens of its entire territory. The flavours of Colombia are seductive and leave a lasting impression.Discover the exotic fruits of Colombia!Discover the cuisine of the Caribbean.
