A Poor Man’s Band
A traditional bandeja paisa is Colombia’s national dish. This very caloric lunch was first developed to provide rural laborers with the energy to last the whole workday. These days, it’s a big lunch reserved for celebrations or extreme hunger. Included in the mix are rice, plantains, arepas (corn cakes), avocado, ground beef, chorizo, black sausage, and fried pig rind, with a fried egg for good measure.
Empanadas
Like the English pasty or the Jamaican patty, the empanada is a convenient and tasty food to have on the go. Meat, poultry, and cheese are all tasty options for stuffing the pastry. Although empanadas may be found all across Latin America, the ones you’ll find in Colombia are usually always deep-fried, making them stand out.
Sancocho
The notion of “creating a supper out of nothing” is central to many traditional Colombian cuisines. Long, slow cooking in soups and stews brings out the meat’s full taste, even in harder cuts. Sancocho is the name for the traditional stew of the Colombian people. You can’t go wrong with any of the sancochos on the menu, whether they’re made with chicken, pig, or beef, but mondongo, tripe soup, is the ultimate comfort food.
Regular Lunch
Lunch is an art form in Colombia. A power lunch, or almuerzocorriente. The Colombian version of this noon meal is a must-try, with soup to start and a hearty main course that always includes rice, meat, or fish, some sort of legume, and a tiny salad on the side.
Mexican chocolate with cheese
The Spanish phrase “chocolate with queso” means “chocolate with cheese.” Though you may not find it appetizing, Colombians often consume cheese coated in hot chocolate. Chocolate with queso is a typical breakfast or afternoon snack food in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. The combination of the hot chocolate and the stringy, melting cheese is unexpectedly satisfying.
Fritanga
Fried offal is a lovely addition to the Fritanga. Fritanga isn’t as appetizing as it may seem, but it’s a terrific opportunity to sample cuts of beef you would not otherwise try.
A Chicken and Rice Dish
Rice is the foundation of many excellent main courses in Colombian cooking. Stewed with chicken stock, rice and chicken is the “Arroz with pollo” of the Spanish language. Because it tastes so good, the meal has gained widespread popularity. This is a fantastic, inexpensive meal that will satisfy anyone’s hunger, especially when served with a generous helping of tomato ketchup.
DesgranadoChuzo
After the clubs shut, many people go to 24-hour cafés to refuel on churros and Granada, a popular post-party food. Served on a bed of lettuce, the meal consists of a variety of meats such as chicken, beef, and pig sausage. The salsas on top are a trifecta: tartare, burger sauce, and pineapple, and they sit above a bed of sweetcorn and crackers. While this dish isn’t likely to win any awards for healthfulness, tourists would be well to sample it at least once to understand its enduring popularity.
Marinated seafood casserole
Along the shore, many love to eat cazuela de mariscos, a creamy shellfish stew. It’s cooked with coconut milk, a wide variety of veggies and spices, and whatever shellfish you have on hand; prawns being the most common. You can eat this soup on the beach in the middle of summer or in the dead of winter; it’s that delicious.
Pandebono
Small, circular, and bread-like, pan de bono is flavored with sweet cheese. Pan de Bono, a kind of bread popular across the nation, is a common breakfast food enjoyed with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Bread connoisseurs should try this traditional Colombian bread.
Lechona (Stuffed Roast Pig) (Stuffed Roast Pig)
This meal takes its inspiration from Spanish fare and features a whole pig packed with rice and pork that is then cooked for roughly 10 hours before being carved and served over white arepa and crispy pig skin.
Although it originated in the Tolima area, you can now find it at the farmer’s markets of many different cities and even in lechona restaurants.
You may even have the entire roasted pig or lechona. Whenever you see Colombians acting in this manner, know that they are planning a massive celebration. Although expensive, a lechona is a popular meal among locals and can serve a large number of visitors.