Casado, another typical Costa Rican dish

Costa Rica is a small country, but it’s full of excellent national dishes! We’ve already told you about them here, here, here and here. Today, it’s the casado’s turn on our plates.

Long live the casado!

Casado (literally meaning “married”) is a traditional Costa Rican dish. It’s a dish of boiled rice, beans and sweet fried plantain (a delicacy). Then, depending on your culinary choices, you can add beef, pork or chicken.

The traditional contents are beans, rice, plantains, palm hearts, egg and mainly beef, chicken, pork or fish. The salads that accompany it depend on the availability of ingredients, which can range from potatoes, cassava, pickles, cabbage, etc.

If you mention that you’re vegetarian, a cabbage dish is included as a salad, or the waiter will suggest something to replace the meat. However, purists in Costa Rica consequently call a vegetarian casado a “Soltero” (single), considering that vegetables are deprived of their meaty half.

This dish is considered affordable in Costa Rica and, above all, complete.

The dish is a variety of ingredients “married” with rice. It usually contains three to four tablespoons of rice.

Without really having a clear origin, rumor has it that casado is meant to be a married man’s dish. But another local story in Costa Rica tells that casado is “the first meal in a marriage”. The dish is prepared for small portions of several foods. The idea is to know that the mixture is a favorite of the couple from day one.

The traditional content goes with beans, rice, plantains, palm hearts, egg and mainly, beef, chicken, pork or fish. The salads that accompany it depend on the availability of ingredients, which can range from potatoes, cassava, pickles, cabbage, etc.

If you mention that you’re vegetarian, a cabbage dish is included as a salad, or the waiter will suggest something to replace the meat. However, purists in Costa Rica consequently call a vegetarian casado a “Soltero” (single), considering that vegetables are deprived of their meaty half.

Casado recipe

Ingredients for a vegetarian casado :

Casado recipe
Ingredients for a vegetarian casado :

– 1 cup black beans
– 2 cups cooked rice
– 3 onions, chopped
– 1 clove garlic, minced
– 1 stalk celery, chopped
– 1 sprig coriander, chopped
– 1 bell bell pepper
– Cabbage, chopped
– “English” sauce, or any other sauce you like. After all, casado is all about blending!
– Vegetable oil
– 1 plantain banana

Casado preparation:

• In a saucepan, sauté the chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic in a little vegetable oil until golden-brown.
• Add the black beans (already cooked) and, in a little stock, let the beans absorb the flavor of the vegetables over a low heat.
• In another frying pan, fry the plantain (seasoned and cut lengthwise) and place the chopped onions on top. Cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes. The idea is for the banana to be juicy and tender at the same time.
• Finally, to present the dish, serve the beans sautéed with vegetables, make a small pile of rice (a cup will do.), the banana bathed in onions. Sprinkle the whole dish with coriander, celery, your choice of sauce, and finally, the cabbage.