Delectable Dishes of Panamanian Cuisine

By Roland Petrov

Chef Roland ate his way through Panama on numerous occasions, and he documented the most delectable dishes he encountered in the mostly budget restaurants he frequented. Upon his return to Southern California, and for a few years on Whidbey Island in Washington, he recreated the dishes he enjoyed in Panama, and his photographs and recipes are here in this volume for your enjoyment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Apr 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483443614

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Petrov

Copyright © 2016 Roland Petrov

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-4360-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-4361-4 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Cover photo shows a roadside barbecue chicken pit on the Inter-American highway in Penonomé.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 2/22/2016

Contents

Chef Roland

Panamanian Cuisine

Bibliography

Index

Albondigas de Res (beef meatballs)

Almejas (clams)

Almojábanos (fried corn dough with white cheese)

Arroz con Leche (rice pudding)

Arroz con Lentejas (rice with lentils)

Arroz con Vegetales (rice with vegetables)

Bistek de Higado (liver and onions)

Carimaňolas (yucca croquettes)

Ceviche de Camarónes (marinated shrimp)

Chayote con Carne (merliton with beef)

Consomme de Camarónes (shrimp broth)

Emparedados (grilled sandwiches)

Ensalada (salad)

Ensalada de Chayote (merliton salad)

Ensalada de Frutas (fresh fruit salad)

Guacho (the risotto of Panama)

Hojaldre (Panamanian fry bread)

Huevos de Codorniz (pickled quail eggs)

Huevos de Pescado Frito (fried fish roe)

Pastel de Yuca (country style pot pie)

Patacones (twice fried green plantain)

Pescado al Vapor (whole steamed fish)

Picadas Mixta (mixed toothpick appetizers)

Ropa Vieja (shredded beef)

Salsas (sauces)

Barbacoa (barbecue)

Blanco (bechamel)

Cola

Criolla (country style)

Limón (lime)

Mantequilla (butter)

Picante (hot sauce)

Piña (pineapple)

Tabogana (fruit)

Sancocho (chicken soup stew)

Sopa Borracha (drunken soup)

Sopa Mayor Alemán (the German major’s soup)

Tamal de Olla (Pot Tamale)

Yuca Frita (yucca fries)

Epilogue

Chef Roland

As a schoolboy in England my hobby was to select recipes from a cookbook my mother had and to cook entire meals for my family of five single-handed. We moved from England to Ethiopia when I was twelve, and my senses were amazed with the aromas of tropical fruits and with the spiciness of the cuisine. I attended high school in Lebanon where I was exposed to a completely different exotic cuisine. I attended college in California, a Pacific Rim melting pot where I became familiar with such Asian cuisines as Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese. I worked as an English teacher in South America and experienced the cuisines of Bolivia and Argentina, and then came seven years in Japan where eating was a major hobby. My next culinary hobby was attending summer courses at various cooking schools, including Cordon Bleu at Cal Poly Pomona in California, Mexican Home Cooking in Tlaxcala, Mexico, and Sclafani’s Cooking School in Louisiana. With my international and culinary background, I was hired as a chef by a catering company that specialized in international cuisine; I learned a lot, and my knowledge and talents were utilized. Then came my love affair with Panama where I worked briefly at two restaurants on the Azuero peninsula before starting what ended up as a pizzeria on the beach. I took copious notes on the cuisine while I was in Panama, and lots of photographs of food, and these are the foundation for my goal of recreating and elevating what I found to be the most varied and exciting cuisine in Central America.

Panamanian Cuisine

Like much of Latin America, Panamanian cuisine is heavily influenced by indigenous products, Iberia, and Chinese immigrants. Panama’s geographical location makes it a seafood paradise with tropical fruits aplenty. Its signature fish dish, ascribed to a chef on the island of Taboga (below), is indeed fish in fruit sauce.

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The seafood market in Panama City, a joint project with Japan, is a foodie attraction not to be missed. You can try some of the many interesting ceviches here, like concha