Latin America Collection

Nicaragua produces a wide variety of fresh tropical fruits, meats
and nuts not found anywhere else in the region.
Fresh bananas, papaya, watermelon, pineapples, mandarins,
avocados
, and jocote are all available for sale on street corners and
in downtown markets, for a fraction of what they cost in North
America or Europe. Mangos grow wild on public trees in the
park and along the shores of Lake Nicaragua; throw a stick and
knock one down to eat if you are so uninhibited. Just make sure
to wash all fruit before eating it.
Nicaragua also is the only country in the region to produce
peanuts and cashews, which can be bought from children in the
park or on the street.
Supermarkets are much like markets in the world north, except
product selection is sparser and more inconsistent. Nicaragugua's


major supermarket chains are, Palí, La Unión Supermercados
and La Colonía Supermercados.
Palí is the most abundant and cheapest chain, with some 20
markets spread across the country. La Unión and La Colonia,
located in Managua, are larger grocery stores with better
selection and quality food products.
Some private grocery stores, such as Lacayo in Granada, offer
harder-to-find imported products to target the expat community.
For your full-on gringo fix, PriceMart in Managua has
everything you would expect it to have, including imported
U.S.-grade meats and all the brand-name junk foods you can
think of.
In addition, every neighborhood has its small, independent
corner store, called pulperías, which usually have a hodgepodge
of basic food items, cooking oil, junk food and beer.
Modern U.S.-style supermarkets abound in Nicaragua.


Ceviche de Corvina
(Marinated White Seabass)
1 lb. seabass, cut in small pieces
3 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
2 cups lemon juice
Salt, pepper and Tabasco Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Worcester Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl. Let it stand for at least four
hours in the refrigerator.
Serve chilled in small bowls topped with catsup and soda crackers
on the side. Serves 8.
TRES LECHES
(Three Milk Cake)
Cake Base
5 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups of flower
Preheat oven at 350 F. Sift baking powder. Set aside. Cream butter
and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add flour
to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time, until well blended.
Pour into greased rectangular Pyrex dish and bake at 350 F for 30
minutes. Let cool. Pierce with a fork and cover. For the filling
combine 2 cups of milk, 1 can of condensed milk and one can of
evaporated milk. Pour this mixture over the cool cake. To make the
topping, mix 1 1/2 cups of half & half, 1 teaspoon vanilla and a cup
of sugar. Whip together until thick. Spread over the top of the cake.
Keep refrigerated. Serves 12.


Shell gas stations also have mini-markets, featuring sweaty
hotdogs, Gatorade and curious deli meats.
In most stores, brand name imports from the United States are
upwards of 30% more expensive than similar Central American
products. You can dramatically reduce your grocery bill if you
substitute Cheetos for Quesitos (different wrapper, same yellow,
sticky fingers afterwards).
Nicaragua also has good local meats from cattle raising up north.
A famous local plate is carne asada (grilled steak strips) with fried
plantain chips and a chile coleslaw. Comedor Doña Emeliña in
Masaya has, dare say, the best carne asada in the universe. Eat it
with beer.
With oceans on both sides, Nicaragua also has excellent ceviche
and seafood plates, prepared with garlic or a spicy Creole sauce
on the Caribbean coast.
American Fast food is available in Nicaragua.


Typical Nicaraguan food is similar to that of Mexico and other
Central American countries. Tortillas often, but not always, are
eaten with a meal of rice, beans, fruit, eggs, vegetables and a little
meat. Gallo pinto, a typical Nicaraguan dish, is made with rice
and red beans as a base and fried with red bell peppers and
cilantro. Nacatamales are a combination of meat, tomatoes, rice
and condiments inside of a rectangular piece of corn meal. It is
wrapped in banana leaves for cooking purposes.
Ceviche
is raw fish marinated in lemon juice, onion and other
spices (Please see the recipe we've included on the previous
page). Plátano Frito are fried green plantains. Vigorón is a popular
dish of boiled yucca (cassava) topped with coleslaw salad and
pork or chicharrón (fried pork skins), served in a banana leaf. The
locals sometimes call the latter toreja. Bajo is another typical dish
that has green plantains, yucca, meat and other vegetables.
Fritangas
are strips of fried vegetables.
Natural fruit juice drinks, or liquados, are available in many
breakfast places, usually a combination of banana or melon with
Rostipollos has the best chicken in Nicaragua.


milk or water. Tiste, Pinolillo and Cacao are three typical
Nicaraguan drinks. Nicaraguans often refer to themselves as
Pinoleros
, a word that comes from the drink Pinolillo.
Typical Nicaraguan food can be found throughout the country.
Just ask around.
Nicaragua also has its share of decent foreign foods. For good
Argentine meats, check out Hary's Grill in Managua. For Irish
fare, the Shannon Bar in Managua's Barrio Bolonia has Irish
pub food.
Nuestra Casa (known locally as Three-Fingered Jimmy's) in
Granada, has the best ribs, fried shrimp and chicken fingers in
the country.
Nicaragua also has its share of restaurant chains, everything from
TGI Fridays to McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, Pollo
Campero, and so forth.
In Granada, the famous breakfast haunts are Nica Buffet and
Kathy's Waffle House.