If you are lucky enough to travel to go on an adventure tour to La Guajira in Colombia , where the desert enchantingly meets the Caribbean sea, you will encounter some of Colombia's most unique cuisines. Rich in the traditions of the Wayuu people and flush with seafood (or mariscos in Spanish) you will find a tantalizing mix of flavors and ingredients to tease your palette.
The fruits of the sea
Because La Guajira is a peninsula, much the local cuisine is seafood, and lobster, shrimp and fish are common fare. In some of the larger coastal towns, you will find dishes like arroz con camarones (rice with shrimp). This dish frequently melds the flavors of tomato, peas, garlic, carrots, beans, chives, and cilantro with the rice and shrimp, creating a uniquely Colombian flavor. In smaller villages, like Cabo de la Vela, fried fish with coconut rice and arepas are common meals. If you catch a fisherman early enough, you might be able to enjoy fresh lobster, which costs more, but delights the taste buds.
photo by Shubert Ciencia (via Flickr)
Cuisine of the Wayuu
Friche, a stewed goat dish, is common in Wayuu settlements. Goats are easy to breed in the arid region and offer a steady source of protein for the settlements that are further inland. As with many cultures around the world, the Wayuu use nearly all of the animal, rather than waste what is perfectly good and delicious to eat. For this dish, intestines and other internal organs are included with the goat blood to create a delicious dish.
Friche recipe (From The Taste of Colombia cookbook. Makes 8 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1 lb goat offal (entrails/internal organs)
- 3 lbs goat meat from the legs, ribs, and shoulder
- 4 limes
- 1/2 cup oil
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 3 onions, finely chopped
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 2 cups goat blood
Directions:
- Cut up the offal and saute in water with a little salt.
- Wash the goat meat with lime, salt & pepper it, then set aside for 30 minutes. Cut the meat into pieces and fry in hot oil until golden.
- Add the offal, garlic, onion, and bell pepper and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add the blood and simmer gently, stirring constantly for 30 minutes. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- Serve with rice and arepas.
The Wayuu collect and eat iguaraya fruit of the dagger cactus (Stenocereus griseus), which is seasonal. Iguaraya boasts a sweet but slightly acidic flavor, and is mildly fragrant. The pulp is a bright red color. When eaten fresh, the seeds provide a pleasant crunch and delightful contrast to the softness of the fruit. It can also be juiced, or cooked into other dishes for flavor. Locally, this fruit is often called yosu, which means "to which nothing sticks." It can be tricky to collect, and the Wayuu people use a long pole with three tines, similar to a fork to harvest the fruit. The spines are then knocked off with other implements while the fruit is held with the harvesting tool. One old legend among the Wayuu is that if children try to collect the fruit on their own, they may be devoured by a boa constrictor!
Sample these unique and tantalizing flavors with Uncharted Colombia's tour of La Guajira. Colombia is waiting.