La Comida de Colombianas

By Alicia Cruz

Senior writer

Theblackurbantimes

Ok, mi gente Here's la receta para dia:

Dinner in Bogota is always an event and is sometimes served late so the entire family has time to get home. It is very important to Colombianos that we eat together everyday. Our dishes are a rich variety of exotic produce and meat and filled with lots of ¡sabor! Different regions favor different foods, but for the most part we all eat very Colombian.

Like the U.S., Colombia is made up of regions. Bogotá and Medellín represent the Andes, Cartagena embodies the Caribbean coast while Caleña plus Chocó sit on the Pacific coast. Colombia is situated in South America and shares borders with Venezuela, Equador, Peru, Brazil and Panama. Like our food, our terrain ranges from mountains to prairies, jungles to deserts.

Be a guest in a Colombiana's home or marry one and you're certain to find specific foods in the cupboard or fridge like rice, potatoes, corn in one form or another and beans. Meat would likely be chicken, seafood and beef. I don't care what's going on, any day that you visit mi casita, you'll find my rice cooker going. I have to have my white rice and gandules/habichuelas, my platanos and of course, my cafe con leche.

A traditional Colombian breakfast include fruit, bread, eggs, and depending on the region, a dish called changua which is basically a potato and egg soup. Lunch is the main meal for the day consisting of a soup and a main course which is eaten between 12.30 and 2.30 and many businesses often close at lunchtimes so that families can eat together. This is very important to Colombianas. Singer, Shakira, takes her family members with her just about everywhere she goes and no matter what, they sit down to eat together.

And we love to have our Aguadiente.

Many people eat a light snack between lunch and dinner which is usually between 7 and 9pm.
Again, the types of foods eaten differ from region to region but in general people in rural interior areas of the country eat heartily including breakfasts which consist of similar items such as strips of pork, rice, beans, sweet plantains or steak with fried eggs.

Dinner in these areas is similar to breakfast although chicken and pork are popular meats. In coastal regions, of course, you'll find spicy seafood is popular on their dinner tables. Oh, and we eat fruit and vegetables a lot!
Here's a recipe for a popular meal in Colombia: Arroz con Camarones: Rice with Shrimp
Colombians like rice and it is very hard to imagine a meal that does not include some type of rice dish. This rice and shrimp dish has a lot of flavor, because we’ll blend the shrimp shells into the stock, which will then be used to cook the rice. The rice will absorb the taste of the shrimp and will be packed with flavor and just delicious.

INGREDIANTS

1 pound fresh and un-peeled shrimp

3 ½ cups water

1 cup rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium tomato,

1 finely chopped garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion, finely chopped
1 fish bouillon tablet

¼ cup green pepper, chopped

¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 scallion, finely chopped

½ teaspoon ground cumin and Sofrito

¼ teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon tomato paste
¼ cup frozen carrots and peas

Salt and Pepper

1 Avocado to serve when the meal is done

HOW TO COOK
1. In a small pot place the un-peeled shrimp, fish bouillon tablet and water and cook for about 3 minutes or until the shrimp turns pink.
2. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl. Peel and save the shells and the stock to use later.
3. Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium pot over medium- high heat. Add the onions and cook for 1 minute, add the garlic, green pepper, Red pepper, scallions and tomato. Cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, place the shrimp shells and stock in a blender and blend for 2 minutes. Pass through a sieve and discard the shells and save the stock.
5. Add the rice to the tomato mixture, stirring until well coated. Add the stock, tomato paste, ground cumin, paprika, salt and black pepper and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the shrimp, peas and carrots and cook for and additional 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Slice your avocado and serve