Nomadic Narrative

Trying different foods is one of the greatest joys of traveling, and living for that matter. I’m not a picky eater, so I really get to explore the gamut of a country’s culinary offerings. What’s even more fun is to learn how to cook a few typical recipes.

My roommate picked me up a traditional Costa Rican cookbook the other day. A lot of people dismiss Costa Rican food as bland and boring, but I’ve discovered several dishes that will bring you back for seconds. In my new recipe collection, I looked for something involving pejibaye – a delicious chestnut-flavored fruit from the palm tree (read about my trip to the annual Pejibaye festival). Cream of pejibaye soup caught my eye and I set off to the market to buy the few, simple ingredients.

First, I peeled and seeded about 7 pejibayes.

I chopped an onion and sautéed it in margarine until it crystallized.

I added the onion, the pejibayes and two cups of water to the blender.

I added the blended mixture into a pot to cook with just over two cups of milk and a cube of chicken broth. Some people use whipping cream instead of milk, but that’s a bit too heavy for my taste.

Voilá – my first attempt at cream of pejibaye soup. Next time, I’ll follow the recommendation to top the soup with fresh parsley.

A no-hassle cooking, and cleaning up day to say the least. This was an easy and deliciously simple dish. It’s a keeper.