Beans

I like to think of El Salvador as the land of beans. The bean, particularly the Salvadoran red bean, is a very important staple in traditional Salvadoran food. It is a food which can be served as a side, a main, a dessert, and even a condiment to the ever popular pupusa. So the local saying goes "you can take away a poor man's meat but you can't take away his beans". At a first glance the trusty bean can even be said to be part of our national flag, the centre of Salvadoran peace and glory, the epitome of much love and adoration which has been bestowed on this staple food:

There it is, the heralded red bean, highlighted by the glow of the setting sun, underneath the pro-gay rainbow of peace. This however is just my personal interpretation. In reality this "bean" cap is actually the gorro frijio (not frijol), a Phrygian cap also known as the cap of liberty represented in Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, and more popularly worn by the smurfs. Yes, a smurf cap features at the centre of my country's national shield. I prefer to think of the cap as a liberty bean. The bean that fed and supported the leftist guerilla movement 30 years ago. But let's not get political here.

Over the past month I have eaten green beans, white beans, black beans and best of all red beans. I have had them stewed, boiled, fried and blended, for breakfast, lunch and dinner in soups, tacos, rice, pies and salads. The abundance of beans in this country and its great nutritional value is one of the main reasons why the population remains so well fed and rotund. And my favorite bean combo to date? Bean puree fried with garlic and coriander served with a side of plantain. Trust me, it's delicious.

Pupusas, empanadas, and quesadilla

I love food and I harbor a deep mistrust for anyone who doesn't love or even appreciate food. How can you be dismissive of the very substance that feeds your body? So on that note here's a blog about Salvadoran food. Please excuse the phonetic nerdiness, it's been too long since I've had the chance to use my phonetic keyboard.

Tortilla - [tortiʝa] Corn is the foundation of Salvadoran cuisine and it is most consumed in the form of a tortilla. This is not the same as a an American or Mexican tortilla who given the popularity of TexMex (American-Mexican fusion) have switched over to the over-sized, bland flour tortilla found in most supermarkets today. Traditionally Mexican tortillas are small, thin, yellow, unleavened flatcakes made out of a mixture of yellow maize flour, water and salt, usually about the size of a tea saucer. Salvadoran tortillas on the other hand are made out of white maize flour, are still about the size of a tea saucer but much thicker, at just under a cm. They are usually eaten on the side with beans and plantain, or on their own with a dollop of fresh cottage cheese. Funnily enough, they taste just like white corn.

Pupusas - [pupusas] A bit of a boring word phonetically but it is the most typical Salvadoran dish, so tasty and delicious other Central American countries have tried to claim it as their own. Colombians and Venezuelans have something similar which they call arepas [aɾepas], but these are by far (at least in my opinion) inferior to our cheese stuffed tortillas. Even calling them calling them mere 'cheese stuffed tortillas' is a travesty on its own. Their most popular flavour is cheese and loroco, but other flavors include, red bean, pork, plain cheese, ayote (acorn squash), or a mixture of any of the above. For those with corn allergies, rice flour pupusas are also an option.

Shuco - [ʃuko] Another corn based food, this is an atol - a smooth, thick drink/soup. Shuko is generally made out of fermented black corn which gives this drink an unappetizing muddy purple appearance and as a result is often called chuco, the salvadoran word for 'dirty'. I won't lie, this is not a dish which I particularly like, but I have been told that it is one of those foods that taste better the more of it you eat/drink. It is usually drank out of a calabash bowl with a side of white bread to mop up the sour, fermented broth.

Empanadas - [eɱpanaðas] A bit of phonetics first, the [ð] = 'th' as in 'the'. Unlike its South American counterparts, Salvadoran empanadas are not pastries filled with beef, chicken or vegetables. Rather, they are more like plantain sausages stuffed with refried beans or custard. Delicious, but incredibly rich.

Poleada - [poliaða] Whereas empanadas can be considered as both a side and desert, poleada is definitely a dessert. It is made out of cinnamon and vanilla infused thickened milk and eggs. Once set, it is sprinkled with raisins and cinnamon and best eaten when still warm. This of it as a sweet but surprisingly light, vanilla-cinnamon mousse.

Quesadilla - [kesaðiʝa] Finally! something you recognize, but this is not the world-famous Mexican quesadilla which is basically a Mexican version of a grilled cheese sandwich. In El Salvador, quesadilla is a dessert, a sweet cheesy cake with sesame seeds, not to be confused with the American cheese cake. The quesadilla is sponge made out of a combination of parmesan, sour cream, eggs, sugar and flour and best enjoyed fresh out of the oven with a cup of strong coffee.