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El Salvador

El Salvador is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San Salvador. The country's population in 2023 was estimated to be 6.5 million.

Featured Dishes from El Salvador

Oyster

Oyster

Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not all oysters, are in the superfamily Ostreoidea.

Pabellón criollo

Pabellón criollo

Pabellón criollo is a traditional Venezuelan dish that is considered the national dish. It mixes elements from the three different cultures that intermixed during Spanish colonial times: Native Americans, Spanish and Africans. The name is a synonym to flag, since it was one of the main original associations. It is a plate of rice, shredded beef in stew and stewed black beans. Common additions include tajadas (fried plantain slices) or a fried egg, and both of these variants have acquired slang names. A pabellón con barandas (baranda is Spanish for guard rail) is served with tajadas because the long plantain slices placed on the sides are humorously considered to be keeping the food from falling off from the plate. A pabellón a caballo (a caballo is Spanish for horseback riding) means with a fried egg on top, as though the egg were "riding" the dish. Besides these two main variants, people also add other things to the dish such as granulated sugar on the beans, Queso Palmita over the beans or hot sauce over the meat. The shredded beef can be replaced by chigüire, shredded caiman meat or even freshwater fish depending on the region, time of the year (beef consumption is prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church during Lent; however, capybara and fish are approved) or personal taste.

Pan relleno

Pan relleno

Bread filled with a variety of meats, cheeses, or ingredients, can be rolled, made into a sandwich, filled with a cheese dip

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Panes con pavo

Turkey sandwich

Parrillada

Parrillada

A barbecue where many different kinds of meats, chorizo, morcillas, chinchulines, mollejas, and steaks are grilled

Pastel de papa

Pastel de papa

Ground meat and mashed potatoes pie/casserole, similar to shepherd's pie, some versions do not contain meat, and are more like scalloped potatoes

Pasteles

Pasteles

Pasteles , also pastelles in the English-speaking Caribbean, are a traditional dish in several Latin American and Caribbean countries. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean coast of Colombia, the dish looks like a tamal. In Hawaii, they are called pateles in a phonetic rendering of the Puerto Rican pronunciation of pasteles, as discussed below. Related to alcapurria, tamales, hallacas, and guanimes, pasteles were originally made by the indigenous people of Boriquen (Puerto Rico).[citation needed] Tainos made masa from cassava, yautía and squash. The masa was then filled with beans, fruit, chilies, corn, nuts, meat, fish and wrapped in corn husk.[citation needed]

Pastelito

Pastelito

Cuban pastries are baked puff pastry–type pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings. Traditional fillings include cream cheese quesitos, guava (pastelito de guayaba) and cheese, pineapple, and coconut. The sweet fillings are made with sweetened fruit pulps. The cream cheese filling is also a slightly sweetened version of cream cheese, that resembles the flavor and texture of a cheesecake. The savory fillings are usually beef, but sometimes chicken or ham and cheese are used. The beef fillings consist of a seasoned but not spicy meat, made in a tomato-based sauce. It is typical to include raisins and green olives as part of the meat filling. It is also typical for a sweet glaze to be applied to the top of even savory fillings. The pastries are typically consumed at any time as a snack. In Miami, one can find many "window cafeterias" with customers having a pastelito with coffee throughout the day.

Pavo Navideño

Pavo Navideño

Roast turkey, common during Christmas

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Pavo salvadoreño

Roast turkey, cooked with vegetables and spices that are blended into a sauce that is served with the turkey, common during Christmas

Pescado empanizado

Pescado empanizado

Seasoned, breaded and fried fish fillets

Pescado frito

Pescado frito

Pescado frito , also called pescaíto frito (lit. 'fried little fish' in Andalusian dialect), is a traditional dish from the Southern coast of Spain, typically found in Andalusia, but also in Catalonia, Valencia, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. Pescado frito is also consumed as a delicacy in inland Spain, being very common in the inland Andalusian provinces of Seville and Córdoba. It is also very common throughout the Mediterranean Basin and is found in Provence and Roussillon, France and in the coastal regions of Italy (where the most common variant using salt cod fillets is known as filetto di baccalà) and Greece (where various fish like Mediterranean sand smelt, European anchovy, cod, common sole, greater amberjack and picarel are used). It was also eaten by the Romans in ancient Rome. It is made by coating the fish (usually a white fish) in flour and deep-frying it in olive oil, then sprinkling it with salt as the only seasoning. It is usually served hot, freshly fried, and can be eaten as an appetizer (for example with a beer or wine), or as the main course. Usually, it is served with fresh lemon, which is squeezed over the fish or occasionally in escabeche.

Pinole

Pinole

Pinole, also called pinol, is roasted ground maize. It is mixed with a combination of cocoa, agave, cinnamon, chia seeds, vanilla, or other spices, to make a beverage called pinolillo. The resulting powder is then used as a nutrient-dense ingredient to make different foods, such as cereals, baked goods, tortillas, and beverages. The name comes from the Nahuatl word pinolli, meaning cornmeal. Today, pinole is generally made by hand using wood-burning adobe ovens and a stone and pestle, and is still consumed in certain, often rural, parts of Latin America. Pinole is considered the national beverage of Nicaragua. Depending on the type of pinole and the quality of its ingredients, pinole can be high in key vitamins and nutrients, including protein, amino acids, fiber, and antioxidants. Due to the large amount of fiber and the slow digestion of the maize, pinole also has a very high satiety effect, leaving those who consume it feeling full for a longer period of time. For many indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America, it is relied upon as a key source of nutrition and sustenance. Along with chia, pinole is a staple food of Rarámuri people, an indigenous people of the Copper Canyon of Mexico. The name Rarámuri means "footrunners". Noted for physical stamina and their ability to run extraordinarily long distances wearing only huarache sandals with soles made of recycled tire treads and their traditional garb of a white cotton loincloth with a woven belt, the Rarámuri consume bajíachi (corn beer) and pinole before races.

Pollo asado

Pollo asado

Pollo a la brasa, pollo asado, blackened chicken, or charcoal chicken is a variety of rotisserie chicken especially associated with the cuisine of Peru. It was developed in Peru in the 1950s by Swiss immigrants to Peru. Originally its consumption was specific to high-end restaurants , but today it is a widely available dish. The original version consisted of a chicken (cooked on a spit over charcoal and seasoned only with salt) served with large french fries and traditionally eaten with the fingers, though today additional spices are used to prepare it, and people may eat it with cutlery if they choose. It is almost always served with creamy (mayonnaise-based) sauces, and most frequently with a salsa known as ají.

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Pollo de la plancha

Marinated chicken breast cutlets cooked on a plancha, serve with sauteed onions, salsa

Pollo en crema

Pollo en crema

Chicken in a cream sauce

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Pollo encebollado

Chicken simmered with onions

Pollo frito

Pollo frito

Fried chicken, also called Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior of the chicken while retaining juices in the meat. Broiler chickens are most commonly used. The first dish known to have been deep fried was fritters, which were popular in the European Middle Ages. However, fried chicken originated in Great Britain. The Scottish were the first to have been recorded as deep frying their chicken in fat with breadcrumbs and seasonings, as evidenced by a recipe in an 1747 cookbook by Hannah Glasse and a 1773 diary entry describing fried chicken on the Isle of Skye. There is an English cookbook from 1736 which mentions fried chicken, the “Dictionarium Domesticum”, by Nathan Bailey, where it is called “a marinade of chickens”. The first printed recipe for fried chicken in the USA was by a viriginan housewife called Mary Rudolph. However, this recipe removed the seasonings of the earlier British recipe. Meanwhile, in later years many West African peoples had traditions of seasoned fried chicken .

Pollo guisado

Pollo guisado

Stewed chicken, chicken in sauce

Pollo relleno

Pollo relleno

Stuffed chicken or chicken rolls

Pupusa

Pupusa

A pupusa is a thick griddle cake or flatbread from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala made with cornmeal or rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. In El Salvador, it has been declared the national dish and has a specific day to celebrate it. It is usually stuffed with one or more ingredients, which may include cheese , chicharrón, squash, or refried beans. It is typically accompanied by curtido (a spicy fermented cabbage slaw) and tomato salsa, and is traditionally eaten by hand. The exact origin of the term pupusa is unknown. The Dictionary of Americanisms [es], published by the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, states that pupusa derives from the Nawat word puxahua meaning "fluffy" or "fluffy thing". In her book Interlude and Other Verses, Lidia Pérez de Novoa believed that pupusa derives from the Nawat word pupusawa meaning "to puff up".

Ropa vieja

Ropa vieja

Ropa vieja is a dish with regional variations in Latin America, the Philippines, and Spain. It normally includes some form of stewed beef and tomatoes with a sofrito base. Originating in Spain, it is known today as one of the national dishes of Cuba. The name ropa vieja probably originates from the fact that it was often prepared using food left over from other meals. The dish's origins appear to have first arisen among the Sephardic Jews of the Iberian Peninsula, as a slow-cooked stew that was prepared to be eaten over the course of a traditionally observed Shabbat, a kind of cholent called "handrajos" (similar to the Spanish word "andrajos"). Eventually this dish spread to North Africa and to the Canary Islands of Spain. The dish is believed to have been brought to the Americas by immigrants from the Canary Islands and was first reported to have been cooked in Cuba in 1857, but today is well known as a Cuban national dish.

Salpicon

Salpicon

Salpicon is a dish of one or more ingredients diced or minced and bound with a sauce or liquid. There are different versions found in Spanish and the broader Latin American cuisine. A salpicon is sometimes used as stuffing. In Mexican cuisine and Central American cuisine, the term refers to a salad mixture containing thinly sliced or chopped flank steak, onion, oregano, chile serrano, avocado, tomatoes, and vinegar. The mixture is commonly served on tostadas, tacos or as a filling of poblano peppers. In Honduras, rabbit meat is used. In Colombian cuisine, salpicón is a fruit cocktail beverage made with a base of watermelon and/or orange juice, which gives it its bright red color, and soda water.

Seafood

Seafood

Seafood is the culinary name for food that comes from any form of sea life, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs . The harvesting, processing, and consuming of seafoods are ancient practices with archaeological evidence dating back well into the Paleolithic. Findings in a sea cave at Pinnacle Point in South Africa indicate Homo sapiens (modern humans) harvested marine life as early as 165,000 years ago, while the Neanderthals, an extinct human species contemporary with early Homo sapiens, appear to have been eating seafood at sites along the Mediterranean coast beginning around the same time. Isotopic analysis of the skeletal remains of Tianyuan man, a 40,000-year-old anatomically modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish. Archaeology features such as shell middens, discarded fish bones, and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. During this period, most people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and were, of necessity, constantly on the move. However, early examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarily permanently occupied), such as those at Lepenski Vir, were almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food.

Shrimp

Shrimp

A shrimp or shrimps (UK) is a crustacean (a form of shellfish) with an elongated body and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – typically belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchiata of the order Decapoda, although some crustaceans outside of this order are also referred to as "shrimp". More narrow definitions may be restricted to Caridea, to smaller species of either group or to only the marine species. Under a broader definition, shrimp may be synonymous with prawn, covering stalk-eyed swimming crustaceans with long, narrow muscular tails (abdomens), long whiskers (antennae), and slender legs. Any small crustacean which resembles a shrimp tends to be called one. They swim forward by paddling with swimmerets on the underside of their abdomens, although their escape response is typically repeated flicks with the tail driving them backwards very quickly. Crabs and lobsters have strong walking legs, whereas shrimp have thin, fragile legs which they use primarily for perching.

Sopa de frijoles

Sopa de frijoles

Sopa de gallina india

Sopa de gallina india

Chicken and vegetable soup

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Sopa de hueso

Beef bone soup, also made with chicken, turkey, fish

Sopa de mondongo

Sopa de mondongo

Tripe and vegetable soup

Sopa de pata

Sopa de pata

Paw soup, made with cow's feet, tripe, cassava, corn, banana, chayote, green beans

Sopa de res

Sopa de res

Beef and vegetable soup

Sopa de tortilla

Sopa de tortilla

Tortilla soup is a traditional Mexican soup containing fried corn tortilla. Although the exact origin of tortilla soup is unknown, it is known that it comes from the Mexico City area in Mexico. Traditional tortilla soup is made with chicken broth combined with roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, chiles and tortillas, cut into strips and fried. Traditional tortilla soup is made of fried corn tortilla pieces, submerged into a broth of tomato, garlic, onion, and epazote. It is served with pieces of pasilla chiles, chicharrón, avocado, queso panela, lime, and Mexican crema. While pasilla chiles are the most commonly used, regional variants also may use chile ancho or chile de arbol. Sharing many similarities with traditional tortilla soup, Tex-Mex tortilla soup substitutes many of the traditional ingredients, and opts for a broth that has been thickened with a tomato base and ground tortillas. The fried tortilla is often replaced with tortilla chips, and sour cream is used in place of crema. The soup also often includes the addition of black beans and corn.

Sopa de verduras

Sopa de verduras

Vegetable soup is a common soup prepared using vegetables and leaf vegetables as primary ingredients. It dates to ancient history, and is a mass-produced food product in contemporary times. Vegetable soup is prepared using vegetables, leafy greens, mushrooms, and roots as the main ingredients. Some fruits, such as tomato and squash, are considered vegetables in such a context. Vegetable soup can be prepared as a stock- or cream-based soup. Basic ingredients in addition to vegetables can include beef, fish, beans and legumes, grains, tofu, noodles and pasta, vegetable broth or stock, milk, cream, water, olive or vegetable oil, seasonings, salt and pepper, among myriad others. Some vegetable soups are pureed and run through a sieve, straining them to create a smooth texture. It is typically served hot, although some, such as gazpacho, are typically served cold. Vegetable soup is sometimes served as a starter or appetizer dish. Vegetable soup is mass-produced in canned, frozen, dried, powdered, and instant varieties.

Spiny lobster

Spiny lobster

Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and the Bahamas, called crayfish, sea crayfish, or crawfish ("kreef" in South Africa), terms which elsewhere are reserved for freshwater crayfish. The furry lobsters (such as Palinurellus) were previously separated into a family of their own, the Synaxidae, but they are usually considered members of the Palinuridae. The slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae) are their next-closest relatives, and these two or three families make up the Achelata. Genera of spiny lobsters include Palinurus and a number of anagrams thereof: Panulirus, Linuparus, etc. The name derives from the small Italian port of Palinuro, which was known for harvesting the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas) in ancient Roman times. The town itself was named for the legendary figure of Palinurus, who was a helmsman in Virgil's Æneid.

Squid

Squid

A squid is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting these criteria). Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, and a mantle. They are mainly soft-bodied, like octopuses, but have a small internal skeleton in the form of a rod-like gladius or pen, made of chitin. Squid diverged from other cephalopods during the Jurassic and occupy a similar role to teleost fish as open water predators of similar size and behaviour. They play an important role in the open water food web. The two long tentacles are used to grab prey and the eight arms to hold and control it. The beak then cuts the food into suitable size chunks for swallowing. Squid are rapid swimmers, moving by jet propulsion, and largely locate their prey by sight. They are among the most intelligent of invertebrates, with groups of Humboldt squid having been observed hunting cooperatively. They are preyed on by sharks, other fish, sea birds, seals and cetaceans, particularly sperm whales.

Taco al pastor

Taco al pastor

Tacos filled with pork and pineapple marinated in a chile sauce

Tamale

Tamale

A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, herbs, chilies, or any preparation according to taste, and both the filling and the cooking liquid may be seasoned. Tamale is an anglicized version of the Spanish word tamal . Tamal comes from the Nahuatl tamalli. The English "tamale" is a back-formation from tamales, with English speakers applying English pluralization rules, and thus interpreting the -e- as part of the stem, rather than part of the plural suffix -es. Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BC.

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Tamales pisques

Tamales filled with black beans

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Ticucos

Tamales with legumes, beans and loroco

Tostada

Tostada

Tostada is the name given to various dishes in Mexico and Guatemala which include a toasted tortilla as the main base of their preparation. The name usually refers to a flat or bowl-shaped tortilla that is deep-fried or toasted, but may also refer to any dish using a tostada as a base. It can be consumed alone, or used as a base for other foods. Corn tortillas are usually used for tostadas, although tostadas made of wheat or other ingredients can also be found. Just as stale bread can be made palatable as toast, a stale tortilla can be repurposed as a tostada by frying it in boiling oil until it becomes golden, rigid, and crunchy. Commercial tostadas are similar in taste and consistency to tortilla chips.

Turkey

Turkey

The turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris, native to North America. There are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey of eastern and central North America and the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Males of both turkey species have a distinctive fleshy wattle, called a snood, that hangs from the top of the beak. They are among the largest birds in their ranges. As with many large ground-feeding birds (order Galliformes), the male is bigger and much more colorful than the female.

Adobo

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Adobo

Adobo or adobar is the immersion of food in a stock (or sauce) composed variously of paprika, oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar to preserve and enhance its flavor. The Portuguese variant is known as carne de vinha d'alhos. The practice, native to Iberia (Spanish cuisine and Portuguese cuisine), was widely adopted in Latin America, as well as Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia. In the Philippines, the name adobo was given by colonial-era Spaniards on the islands to a different indigenous cooking method that also uses vinegar. Although similar, this developed independently of Spanish influence. In the years following the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, meat and fish began to be preserved by new methods. Low temperatures facilitate food preservation, but in higher temperatures, other techniques, such as adobo, became necessary. Animals were usually slaughtered in the coldest months of winter, but surplus meat had to be preserved in the warmer months. This was facilitated through the use of adobos (marinades) along with paprika (a substance that may have antimicrobial properties due to the capsaicin content). Paprika gives a reddish color to adobos, and the capsaicins in paprika dissolve in fats, allowing its penetration beyond the tissue surface.

Alguashte

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Alguashte

Alguashte is a seasoning typical of Salvadoran cuisine made from ground pepitas , and is used on both sweet or savoury meals. Simple to make, it is often prepared at home; however it can also be purchased pre-packaged as well as from street vendors often as an addition to a meal or snack. It is added to fruits such as unripe mango, as well as food dishes such as shuco and chicken. Alhuashte: from the Nahuatl AYU, juice; JUASHTI, seeds. Adobo prepared from pumpkin seeds. While its origin is not known, alguashte likely is of Mayan origins as pepitas have been consumed in Mesoamerica for several centuries.

Arroz

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Arroz

Arroz branco

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Arroz branco

White rice is milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and germ removed. This alters the flavor, texture and appearance of the rice and helps prevent spoilage, extend its storage life, and makes it easier to digest. After milling , the rice is polished, resulting in a seed with a bright, white, shiny appearance. The milling and polishing processes both remove nutrients. An unbalanced diet based on unenriched white rice leaves many people vulnerable to the neurological disease beriberi, due to a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1). White rice is often enriched with some of the nutrients stripped from it during its processing. Enrichment of white rice with B1, B3, and iron is required by law in the United States when distributed by government programs to schools, nonprofits, or foreign countries. As with all natural foods, the precise nutritional composition of rice varies slightly depending on the variety, soil conditions, environmental conditions and types of fertilizers. Adopted over brown rice in the second half of the 19th century because it was favored by traders, white rice has led to a beriberi epidemic in Asia.

Baguette

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Baguette

A baguette is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a diameter of about 5 to 6 cm (2–2+1⁄2 in) and a usual length of about 65 cm (26 in), but can be up to 1 m (39 in) long.

Butifarra

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Butifarra

Botifarra is a type of sausage and one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cuisine. Botifarra is based on ancient recipes, either the Roman sausage botulu or the lucanica, made of raw pork and spices, with variants today in Italy and in the Portuguese and Brazilian linguiça.[citation needed] In Colombia, butifarras soledeñas are a popular tradition in Soledad, Atlántico.

Cachitos

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Cachitos

Cachitos are a Venezuelan food similar to the croissant, and are often filled with ham and cheese. The ingredients variate according to the state and the bakery they are made from but the most common ingredients are: Wheat flour, butter, eggs, room temperature milk, water, salt, yeast and a pinch of sugar. The origin of the cachitos is unsure. Some associate it with the arrival of Portuguese and Italian bakers in the early twentieth century, while others believe that it came to existence in the kitchen of an Italian baker named Pietroluchi Pancaldi in Lusiteña, Caracas in 1940. While others believe Cachitos is a derivate of the Venezuelan Christmas dish, Pan de Jamon.

Casamiento

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Casamiento

Ceviche de camaron

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Ceviche de camaron

Chancaca

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Chancaca

Chancaca is a typical Bolivian, Chilean and Peruvian, warm, sweet sauce made of raw unrefined sugar from sugarcane. It is often flavored with orange peel and cinnamon, and is consumed on sopaipillas or picarones. Chancaca is also a synonym for panela, the unrefined sugar used to make chancaca syrup. In Colombia, chancacas are a traditional coconut candy.

Chicharrones

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Chicharrones

Chicharrón is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. Chicharrón may also be made from chicken, mutton, or beef. Chicharrón, as a dish with sauces, or chicharrones as finger-food snacks, are popular in Andalusia and Canarias in Spain, Latin America and other places with Spanish influence including the Southwestern United States. It is part of the traditional cuisines of Bolivia, Brazil, Portugal (where it is called torresmo), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guam, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Belize and others. The singular form of the term or a variant of it is also used as a mass noun in Filipino and Tagalog, in which stand-alone plurals do not exist. Chicharrones are usually made from various cuts of pork but sometimes with mutton, chicken or other meats. In some places they are made from pork ribs with skin attached and other meatier cuts rather than just rinds. The pork rind variant is the skin of the pork after it has been seasoned and deep fried often to a crispy, puffy state. Other styles may be fatty or meaty, not fried as much, and sometimes attached to ribs or other bones. In Mexico, they are eaten in a taco or gordita with salsa verde. Serving styles vary widely, including main course, side dish, filling for tortillas and other bread, the meat portion of stews, and as finger-food snacks.

Chimichurri

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Chimichurri

Chimichurri is an uncooked sauce used as an ingredient in cooking and as a table condiment for grilled meat. Found originally in Argentinian cuisine but also used in Uruguayan, Paraguayan and Brazilian cuisines, it has become widely adopted in most of Latin America. The sauce comes in green (chimichurri verde) and red (chimichurri rojo) varieties. It is made of finely chopped flat leaf parsley, red fresno chili peppers, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano and vinegar or lemon juice. It is similar to Moroccan chermoula. The name may be a variant of Spanish chirriburri 'hubbub', ultimately perhaps from Basque zurrumurru 'noise, rumor'. Another theory connects it to Basque tximitxurri 'hodgepodge', 'mixture of several things in no particular order'; many Basques settled in Argentina in the 19th century.

Chimol

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Chimol

Chimol is a common Central American cuisine or condiment topping on foods such as carne asada. Chimol is made of diced tomato, bell pepper, cilantro, and onion. It is seasoned with lemon juice, salt, and black pepper, and sometimes with vinegar too. It usually has a spice of some sort. Modifications to the recipe exist depending on different regions of Central America. It is tradition to cook the tomato at the same time as the carne asada, because this gives the carna asada a juicy taste. It is used as a sauce on carna asada, with salads, with pork and with chicken breast.

Chipilín

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Chipilín

Crotalaria longirostrata, the chipilín, is a perennial legume that is native to Mexico and Central America. Other common names include chepil, chepilin, chipilin and longbeak rattlebox. Chipilín leaves are a common leafy vegetable in the local cuisines of southern Mexico, including Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Tabasco, and Central America, especially El Salvador and Guatemala. The leaves are high in iron, calcium, magnesium, and beta carotene. They can be boiled and served green, dried and used as an herb, or added to tamale doughs for color and flavor.

Cuajada

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Cuajada

Cuajada is a dairy product traditionally made from sheep's milk, but now it is more often made industrially from cow's milk. It is popular in the northern regions of Spain (Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country, Navarre, Aragon, Castile and Leon, and La Rioja). In Latin America it is popular in Colombia, Venezuela, and in the Central American countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and in the northern region of Costa Rica. Raw warmed milk is mixed with rennet or plant extracts and left to curdle. It was traditionally made in a wooden vessel called kaiku and heated with a red-hot poker, giving it a distinct faintly burned taste. Cuajada means "curdled" in Spanish. In Basque, it is called mamia. Cuajada is usually served as dessert with honey and walnuts or sometimes sugar, and less often, for breakfast with fruit or honey. In Colombia, it is typically served with melado, a thick syrup made of panela. In Nicaragua, salt is usually added to the cuajada, which is eaten with güirilas and other dishes

Curtido

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Curtido

Curtido is a type of lightly fermented cabbage relish. It is typical in Salvadoran cuisine and that of other Central American countries, and is usually made with cabbage, onions, carrots, oregano, and sometimes lime juice; it resembles sauerkraut, kimchi, or tart coleslaw. It is commonly served alongside pupusas, the national delicacy. Fellow Central American country Belize has a similar recipe called "curtido" by its Spanish speakers; however, it is a spicy, fermented relish made with onions, habaneros, and vinegar. It is used to top salbutes, garnaches, and other common dishes in Belizean cuisine.

Elote

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Elote

Corn on the cob is a culinary term for a cooked ear of sweet corn eaten directly off the cob. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the kernels are still tender. Ears of corn are steamed, boiled, or grilled usually without their green husks, or roasted with them. The husk leaves are removed before serving. Corn on the cob is normally eaten while still warm, and is often seasoned with salt and butter. Some diners use specialized skewers, thrust into the ends of the cob, to hold the ear while eating without touching the hot and sticky kernels. After being picked, the corn's sugar converts into starch: it takes only one day for it to lose up to 25% of its sweetness, so it is ideally cooked on the same day as it is harvested.

Ensalada de coditos

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Ensalada de coditos

Ensalada de manzana

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Ensalada de manzana

A sweet apple salad, common during Christmas and the New Year

Ensalada de papa

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Ensalada de papa

Ensalada de repollo

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Ensalada de repollo

Coleslaw , also known as cole slaw or simply as slaw, is a side dish consisting primarily of finely shredded raw cabbage with a salad dressing or condiment, commonly either vinaigrette or mayonnaise. This dish originated in the Netherlands in the 18th century. Coleslaw prepared with vinaigrette may benefit from the long lifespan granted by pickling. Coleslaw has evolved into various forms globally. The only consistent ingredient in coleslaw is raw cabbage, while other ingredients and dressings vary widely. Some popular variations include adding red cabbage, pepper, shredded carrots, onions, grated cheese, pineapple, pears, or apples, and using salad dressings like mayonnaise or cream. The term "coleslaw" arose in the 18th century as an anglicisation of the Dutch term koolsla ("kool" in Dutch sounds like "cole") meaning "cabbage salad". The "cole" part of the word ultimately derives from the Latin caulis, meaning cabbage.

Ensalada rusa

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Ensalada rusa

Olivier salad is a traditional salad dish of Russian cuisine. Its creation is generally attributed to Lucien Olivier. It is also popular in other post-Soviet countries and around the world. In different modern recipes, it is usually made with diced boiled potatoes, carrots and brined dill pickles (or cucumber), together with optional vegetable or fruit ingredients such as green peas, eggs, celeriac, onions and apples, optional meat ingredients such as diced boiled chicken, cured sausage, ham, or hot dogs, with salt, pepper and mustard sometimes added to enhance flavor, and dressed with mayonnaise. In many countries, the dish is commonly referred to as Russian salad, in a few Scandinavian countries (Denmark and Norway) it is called italiensk salat (Italian salad, to acknowledge the popularity of this dish in Northern Italy - where however the common name is Insalata russa) and in Dutch it is called huzarensalade (hussars' salad). In former Yugoslav countries it is called ruska salata (Russian salad) or francuska salata (French salad). In Romania it is known as "salata (de) boeuf." which means beef salad in French. In France, it is referred to as macédoine de légumes, whereas the Polish version, in which there's usually no meat, is simply known as sałatka jarzynowa, or vegetable salad. In Russia and other post-Soviet states, as well as in Russophone communities worldwide, the salad has become one of the main dishes on zakuski tables served during New Year's Eve ("Novy God") celebrations. In Poland it is commonly served at Christmas and Easter.

Escabeche

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Escabeche

Escabeche is the name for several dishes in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Filipino and Latin American cuisines, consisting of marinated fish, meat or vegetables, cooked or pickled in an acidic sauce , and flavored with paprika, citrus, and other spices. In both Spain and Latin America, many variations exist, including frying the main ingredient before marinating it. Escabeche of seafood, fish, chicken, rabbit, pork, and vegetables are common in Spain, Caribbean and Portugal. Eggplant escabeche is common in Argentina. The Spanish and Portuguese word escabeche originates from Andalusi Arabic (spoken in Muslim Iberia) and ultimately Persian. It is derived from al-skepaj (السكباج), the name of a popular meat dish cooked in a sweet-and-sour sauce, usually containing vinegar and honey or date molasses. This technique spread throughout the former Portuguese and Spanish Empires and is particularly common in Latin America and the Philippines.

Esquites

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Esquites

Esquites (troles and trolelotes in Northeast Mexico, chasca in Aguascalientes, vasolote in Michoacán, etc.) also known as elote en vaso (corn in a cup), also served in the Southwestern USA is a Mexican snack or antojito. One can find them at local markets, and street vendors selling corn. The word esquites comes from the Nahuatl word ízquitl, which means "toasted corn". Although its true origin is not known, it is a common understanding that esquites are historically a common Mexican street food. According to Nahuatl stories, esquites are credited as being created by the deity Tlazocihuapilli of Xochimilcas, who is also credited with creating Mexican Atole and corn jelly. There is an alternative origin story that claims that in the late 1800's, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Charlotte of Belgium created a dish referred to as "Odalisque Teeth", when they accidentally used corn flour instead of wheat. The modern day esquite is known as a Mestizo preparation because many of its fundamental ingredients (not including corn) were from Spain.

Frijoles

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Frijoles

A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world. The word "bean" and its Germanic cognates have existed in common use in West Germanic languages since before the 12th century, referring to broad beans, chickpeas, and other pod-borne seeds. This was long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in Europe. With the Columbian exchange of domestic plants between Europe and the Americas, use of the word was extended to pod-borne seeds of Phaseolus, such as the common bean and the runner bean, and the related genus Vigna. The term has long been applied generally to many other seeds of similar form, such as Old World soybeans, peas, other vetches, and lupins, and even to those with slighter resemblances, such as coffee beans, vanilla beans, castor beans, and cocoa beans. Thus the term "bean" in general usage can refer to a host of different species.

Fruit

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Fruit

Banana, coconut, melon, mango, papaya, pineapple, passionfruit, soursop, star fruit

Gallo pinto

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Gallo pinto

Gallo pinto or gallopinto is a traditional dish from Central America. Consisting of rice and beans as a base, gallo pinto has a long history and is important to Nicaraguan and Costa Rican identities and cultures, just as rice and beans variations are equally important in many Latin American cultures as well. It has similarities with the Cuban moros y cristianos dish. It is served with breakfast, lunch, and dinner and pairs well with Lizano sauce. The beans in gallo pinto are quickly cooked until the juice is almost consumed, then combined with prepared rice and other ingredients such as cooked bell peppers, coriander, chopped onions, and garlic. Gallo pinto means "spotted rooster" in Spanish. The name is said to originate in the multi-colored or speckled appearance that results from cooking the rice with black or red beans. The term may also be shortened depending on the region.

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Jamon

Jamón is a type of dry-cured ham produced in Spain. It is one of the most globally recognized food items of Spanish cuisine. It is also regularly a component of tapas. Most jamón is commonly called jamón serrano in Spain. Jamón is the Spanish word for 'ham'. As such, other ham products produced or consumed in Spanish-speaking countries may also be called by this name.

Mayonesa

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Mayonesa

Spanish mayonnaise, made with eggs, olive oil, lemon juice and salt

Moronga

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Moronga

Moronga, rellena, morcilla or mbusia is a kind of blood sausage. It is found in Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Central America, Mexican and Paraguay cuisine. Spices, herbs , onions and chili peppers are added and then boiled in the pig's large intestines for casing for several hours. It is served in a sauce, either "chile rojo" or "chile verde". It is also served in central Mexico as a filling in gorditas and tacos after it has been pan-fried with fresh onions and jalapeño peppers. This sausage is called "morcilla" in the Yucatán Peninsula, and it is almost always served along with other sausages (buche) and a mix of pickled onion, cilantro, and spices.

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Pacalla

Palm flowers breaded in cornmeal and fried, serve with tomato sauce

Pan casero

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Pan casero

Pan de queso

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Pan de queso

Pan de queso is a traditional Colombian roll made with tapioca flour and grated cheese. It is served plain or filled with cream cheese or jam. This food is especially common in the Paisa region of Colombia as breakfast or parva. Pan de queso is one of the breads (along with pandebono and buñuelos) that is made with fermented cassava starch. Fermented starch allows biscuits to become light and voluminous. A similar food is prepared in Brazil, known as pão de queijo. Pão de queijo is common in the southeast of Brazil, especially the Minas Gerais region.

Pan dulce

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Pan dulce

Pan dulce, literally meaning "sweet bread", is the general name for a variety of Mexican pastries. They are inexpensive treats and are consumed at breakfast, merienda, or dinner. The pastries originated in Mexico following the introduction of wheat during the Spanish conquest of the Americas and developed into many varieties thanks to French influences in the 19th century. The creative contribution of French baked goods to Mexico's cuisine peaked in the early 20th century during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Skilled Mexican bakers adopted French techniques to create new bread designs with colorful names. Today it is estimated that there are between 500 and 2,000 types of bread currently produced in Mexico. Among these are: A beso , from Mexico, is made by creating round domes on the top with a drop filling of jam in the middle.

Pan frances

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Pan frances

A marraqueta is a bread roll made with wheat flour, salt, water and yeast. This type of roll has a crusty exterior. In Chile, the bread dates to the 1800s and it is considered a national food of Bolivia. It is served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and is the most common bread found in Bolivia bakeries. In 2024, marraqueta was listed as the third best bread in the world by Taste Atlas.

Papas fritas

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Papas fritas

French fries , chips (British and other national varieties), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are batonnet or allumette-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium or France. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and frying them, usually in a deep fryer. Pre-cut, blanched, and frozen russet potatoes are widely used, and sometimes baked in a regular or convection oven; air fryers are small convection ovens marketed for frying potatoes. French fries are served hot, either soft or crispy, and are generally eaten as part of lunch or dinner or by themselves as a snack, and they commonly appear on the menus of diners, fast food restaurants, pubs, and bars. They are often salted and may be served with ketchup, vinegar, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, or other sauces. Fries can be topped more heavily, as in the dishes of poutine, loaded fries or chili cheese fries. French fries can be made from sweet potatoes instead of potatoes. A baked variant, oven fries, uses less or no oil.

Pastelito

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Pastelito

Cuban pastries are baked puff pastry–type pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings. Traditional fillings include cream cheese quesitos, guava (pastelito de guayaba) and cheese, pineapple, and coconut. The sweet fillings are made with sweetened fruit pulps. The cream cheese filling is also a slightly sweetened version of cream cheese, that resembles the flavor and texture of a cheesecake. The savory fillings are usually beef, but sometimes chicken or ham and cheese are used. The beef fillings consist of a seasoned but not spicy meat, made in a tomato-based sauce. It is typical to include raisins and green olives as part of the meat filling. It is also typical for a sweet glaze to be applied to the top of even savory fillings. The pastries are typically consumed at any time as a snack. In Miami, one can find many "window cafeterias" with customers having a pastelito with coffee throughout the day.

Patacones

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Patacones

Tostones are twice-fried plantain slices commonly found in Latin American cuisine and Caribbean cuisine. Most commonly known as tostones in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Nicaragua, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Venezuela, they are also known as tachinos or chatinos (Cuba), bannann peze (Haiti), patacones (in Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru) and, sometimes, patacón pisao in Colombia. Green (unripe) plantains are peeled, sliced lengthwise, diagonally, or widthwise, and then fried twice. The raw slices of plantains are fried for one to two minutes on each side until they are golden in color, and removed and patted to remove excess cooking oil. Afterward, they are pounded flat with a hinged utensil made for the task, called a tostonera, or less conveniently, with any kitchen utensil with a sufficiently large flat surface—for instance, between two plates. The flattened plantain slices are then fried once again until they are crisp and golden brown. In Puerto Rico making tostones is typically a three-step process rather than two used in other countries. Plantains’ tips are cut off and boiled with the skin on until almost cooked through. The skin is removed and the plantains are cut into chunks and fried, flattened and then refried. Most Puerto Ricans use the method of soaking the plantains in hot water with salt for a few minutes before frying. Both of these methods result in a softer, moist center with a crispy exterior.

Queso fresco

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Queso fresco

Fresh, unaged, crumbly white cheese made from milk that is curdled with rennet, though sometimes the terms queso fresco and queso blanco are used interchangeably

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Riguas

Fried cornmeal cakes

Salchicha

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Salchicha

A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.

Salchipapa

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Salchipapa

A salchipapa or salchipapas is a South American fast food dish commonly consumed as street food, typically consisting of thinly sliced pan-fried beef sausages and French fries, mixed together with a savory coleslaw on the side. The dish's name is a portmanteau of the Spanish words salchicha and papa (potato). The dish is served with different sauces, such as ketchup and mustard, crema de aceituna (olive sauce), along with aji or chili peppers. Sometimes a fried egg or cheese is added on top; it can also be served with tomato and lettuce, and is occasionally garnished with oregano. The salchipapa was invented as a street food in Lima, Peru.[A] Over the years, it expanded to other places in Peru. In Latin America, the dish's popularity has expanded beyond Peruvian cuisine, and is now also typical of Colombian cuisine and Bolivian cuisine. The dish is also sold on Argentinian and Ecuadorian streets and markets. The range of the dish keeps expanding due to the Bolivian immigration in Argentina and the Colombian and Peruvian restaurants in the United States and Chile. There is a variant known as choripapas (made with chorizo instead of sausage). They can also be found in Mexico. It is also very similar to the Mexican-American street food known as carne asada fries.

Salsa de piña

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Salsa de piña

Pineapple salsa, serve with tortilla chips

Salsa de tomate

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Salsa de tomate

A traditional tomato sauce made with tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, herbs and spices

Salsa golf

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Salsa golf

Salsa golf is a cold sauce of somewhat thick consistency, common in Argentina. It is made from mayonnaise with a smaller amount of tomato-based sauce such as ketchup, as well as seasonings including pimento, oregano, and cumin. According to legend, the sauce was invented by the physician Luis Federico Leloir in the mid-1920s at the golf club of the seaside resort Mar del Plata. Tired of eating shrimp and prawn with mayonnaise, he asked the waiter to bring various ingredients and experimented with different mixtures. The favourite was ketchup and mayonnaise. Leloir's companions named the result salsa golf, and its fame grew. Soon it spread to neighboring Uruguay while also being common in Chile. There are several recipes, but the sauce is always mostly mayonnaise with a tomato-based sauce like ketchup. Seasoning is added to give the sauce an Argentine flavor, such as pimento, oregano, and cumin. The mixture can also include Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

Salsa roja

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Salsa roja

Sazon

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Sazon

A spice mix popular in Latin America, made with garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, turmeric, achiote, salt, black pepper, several variations, used in soups, stews, bean dishes

Sope

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Sope

A sope is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a fried masa base with savory toppings. Also known as picadita (in Tierra Caliente, Guerrero)[citation needed], it originates in the central and southern parts of Mexico, where it was sometimes first known as pellizcadas. It is an antojito, which at first sight looks like an unusually thick tortilla with vegetables and meat toppings. The masa base is fried with pinched sides and topped with refried beans, crumbled cheese, lettuce, onions, red or green sauce and sour cream. Sometimes other ingredients (mostly meat) are also added to create different tastes and styles. The sope has spread throughout all Mexico's territory, and thousands of regional variants are made. Even though sopes are traditionally from Mexico, many Central American countries have adopted this dish into their cuisine, with slightly different ingredients, and very similar to Salvadoran enchiladas.

Tajadas

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Tajadas

Tajada "slices" is a dish of fried plantains that are sliced long. It is a typical food of Caribbean countries as well as Nicaragua, Colombia, Honduras, Panama, and Venezuela. It is sometimes served with grated cheese.

Tortilla

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Tortilla

A tortilla is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread from Mesoamerica originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas tlaxcalli ([t͡ɬaʃˈkalli]). First made by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica before colonization, tortillas are a cornerstone of Mesoamerican cuisine. Corn tortillas in Mesoamerica are known from as early as 500 BCE.

Tortilla de maiz

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Tortilla de maiz

In North America, a corn tortilla or just tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flatbread, made from hominy, that is the whole kernels of maize treated with alkali to improve their nutrition in a process called nixtamalization. A simple dough made of ground, dried hominy, salt and water is then formed into flat discs and cooked on a very hot surface, generally an iron griddle called a comal. A similar flatbread from South America, called an arepa (made with ground maize, not hominy, and typically much thicker than tortillas), predates the arrival of Europeans to America, and was called tortilla by the Spanish from its resemblance to the traditional Spanish round, unleavened cakes and omelettes (originally made without potatoes, which are native to South America). The Aztecs and other Nahuatl-speakers call tortillas tlaxcalli ([t͡ɬaʃˈkalli]). The successful conquest of the Aztec empire by the Spanish and the subsequent colonial empire ruled from the former Aztec capital have ensured that this variation become the prototypical tortilla for much of the Spanish-speaking world. Maize kernels naturally occur in many colors, depending on cultivar: from pale white, to yellow, to red and bluish purple. Likewise, corn meal and the tortillas made from it may be similarly colored. White and yellow tortillas are by far the most common, however. In Mexico, there are three colors of maize dough for making tortillas: white maize, yellow maize and blue maize (also referred to as black maize).

Vinaigrette

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Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette is made by mixing an edible oil with a mild acid such as vinegar or lemon juice (citric acid). The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but can also be used as a marinade. Traditionally, a vinaigrette consists of 3 parts oil and 1 part vinegar mixed into a stable emulsion, but the term is also applied to mixtures with different proportions and to unstable emulsions which last only a short time before separating into layered oil and vinegar phases. Vinaigrette is the diminutive form of the French word vinaigre ("vinegar"). It was commonly known as "French dressing" in the 19th century. In general, vinaigrette consists of 3 parts of oil to 1 part of vinegar whisked into an emulsion. Salt and pepper are often added. Herbs and shallots, too, are often added, especially when it is used for cooked vegetables or grains. Sometimes mustard is used as an emulsifier and to add flavour.

Yuca frita

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Yuca frita

Fried cassava, cassava fries