Comida glorious comida

During our time in Colombia we found lots of fantastic new food to try. We haven't held back and have indulged in many tasty pleasures. Here are pictures and descriptions of some of the highlights and new discoveries.

Fruit salad (usually banana, papaya, melon and mango) in Colombia often comes covered in cream and a mild grated cheese

An hallaca - a mini tamal - our Colombian friends will be able to tell us the difference. A delicious and nutritious street snack cooked in a banana leaf, costing about 40p. It is ground maize with chicken and vegetables within. Yum.

Our fancy engagement meal. This is a mouth-watering fillet of fish with a red wine reduction on a bed of leek and something else that we have forgotten. Oh dear!  One of the nicest dishes we have ever eaten.

Our other engagement meal dish. This tuna was cooked perfectly and was very exciting although it came in second place to the delectable dish above.

Our first ceviche in South America, a specialty of Peru, raw fish marinated in lime juice. Very tasty.

It's not all about eating out. In our hotel room in Cartagena we had this table picnic (on a plastic bag) for a couple of nights.

Look how many limes you get for 30p. Good with rum and coke.

We found no ice cream in Venezuela, the infamous icecream parlour with the most flavours in the world in Merida had closed.  We were delighted then to find this luxurious Italian style icecream in Cartagena.  The chocolate was rich and bitter, the physillis tangy and refreshing and the other flavours were yummy too.

The main course of a great value lunch time meal deal - a menu ejecutivo or a corriente.  For £2 you can eat if not like a king, then at least like some kind of vaguely royal person.

Fruit stalls in so many streets in Cartagena selling so many tropical fruits, many of which we have never seen before.

Delicious papaya, no trace of the sickly smell it often has picked up by the time they reach the UK.

Cazuelo de mariscos - a rich, seafood soup made with fresh coconut milk. Absolutely fantastic and made fresh and especially for us on our island retreat.

Standard supermarket fare - a giant papaya and a spiky green guanabana - mild, milky and refreshing in a milkshake.

Angela and her mum enjoying a delicous soup - Angela will have to remind us of the name. Made with large, more savoury sweetcorn (mazorca), maize, milk and sweetened with panela (unrefined brown sugar, bought in blocks or bags and used as much if not more than sugar here).

We think this is called chicharron - a sort of grissly, tasty piece of pork crackling which accompanied a thick bean soup/stew, along with rice and avocado.

Colombian Aguila beer on tap at the table

Beef oreado - a steak that has been hung and partially dried in the sun, half way between fresh steak and beef jerky. A bit chewy but full of flavour.

Mojarra - fried local fish. Extra bonus points for eating the eyes and sucking the bones.

An interesting mix of beer and an irn bru type soft drink (called Kola, of which there are many varieties and brands in South America, either yellow or orange).

Barbecued, giant savoury sweetcorn or mazorca on Christmas Day with a plate of barbecued potatoes and a sort of black pudding which Simon ate and Rachel spat out. Something like morcilgo.

Christmas morning soup - Angela what is it called pleased?  Thick soup with potatoes, vegetables, mazorca and chicken stock. Very delicious and a good, if alternative start to Christmas Day.

Obleas - available on most street corners. A sandwich of two large, thin, circular wafers filled with arequipe, which is like caramelised condensed milk, crema de leche (sweet cream), grated cheese and sometimes with a blackberry source.

 

Our first salad in South America. So good that we went back the next night and had it again. This could be made at home - since it is more Italian than South America. Shredded chicken, mozzarella, grated carrot, sliced tomato, lettuce, sweetcorn and finely chopped red peppers, onion, mushroom, green olives, pinenuts and seeds.  Dressed and topped with basil pesto.

Colombians are passionate about their food and there is so much regional variation. Rather than asking us where were the best places we had visited, many people would ask us about our favourite food in Colombia. They were also very interested in typical English food, we found we were soon running out of things to say after roast dinners, crumbles, pies, cheese and shepherd's pie. Any more suggestions gratefully received.