Costa Rica

Costa Rica (#29) Gallo Pinto (Beans and Rice)

Gallo Pinto is the national dish of Costa Rica and is eaten almost daily by Costa Ricans.  Translated it means spotted rooster, the beans being the spots.  It’s a basic beans and rice dish, seasoned with cumin and Worcestershire sauce.  I topped it with a fresh salsa made with diced tomatoes, jalapeno, and cilantro.  It's a wonderful, healthy dish and so easy to make.

Jamaica

Jamaica (#28) Jerk Chicken and Tropical Mango Salsa

This jerk chicken recipe is a keeper.  The main ingredients are allspice and scotch bonnets or habaneros, but the jerk seasoning also includes soy sauce, thyme, lime juice, orange juice, and quite a few other spices.  I marinated the chicken wings overnight and baked them for about 45 minutes, basting them with some of the reserved marinade. 
http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/jerk_chicken.htm
As a side to the chicken wings, I tossed together a refreshing mango salsa made of diced mangos, red onions, red peppers, jalapeno and cilantro.  Toss with a splash of lime juice and zest, and the salsa is the perfect accompaniment to the wings.

 

 

Bulgaria

Bulgaria (#27) Spanak i Oriz i Kiselo Mlyako (Rice and Spinach with Yogurt Sauce)        

This recipe appealed to me because it is a healthful, vegetarian recipe.  It contains rice, mushrooms, onions, carrots and spinach, along with yogurt mixed with fresh garlic and lemon juice.  There were no spices but it turned out to be very flavorful mainly because of the yogurt mixture served with it.  For presentation, I filled a measuring cup with the rice mixture and inverted it onto the plate. 
Next week, Gallo Pinto, Costa Rica's national dish.

Portugal

Portugal (#26) Tortilha de Linguica (Portuguese Sausage Frittata)

I found this recipe on the website http://leitesculinaria.com/.  David Leite is a food writer and author of the book “The New Portuguese Table”.  His award winning website is filled with wonderful recipes and essays.  For this dish, I found linguica at my local specialty store.  Linguica is a Portuguese pork sausage seasoned with spicy paprika and garlic.  I sauteed red peppers and the linguica in olive oil, then sauteed thin sliced potatoes and sliced onions, added them together and poured beaten eggs on top.  After cooking for a short while in the skillet, I put it under the broiler until the eggs were completely set.  I’m so happy I found this recipe because it was so delicious and so fun to cook in a cast iron skillet.