Gallo pinto
 Gallo pinto served with cheese | |||||||
| Course | Main dish, side dish | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of origin | Costa Rica and Nicaragua[1] | ||||||
| Associated cuisine | Central American cuisine | ||||||
| Serving temperature | Hot | ||||||
| Main ingredients | Rice, beans | ||||||
| Ingredients generally used | Onions, peppers, other seasonings | ||||||
| Variations | Regional variations | ||||||
| 200 kcal (840 kJ) | |||||||
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Gallo pinto or gallopinto[2] is a traditional dish from Central America. Consisting of rice and beans as a base, gallo pinto has a long history and is important to Nicaraguan and Costa Rican identities and cultures, just as rice and beans variations are equally important in many Latin American cultures as well. It has similarities with the Cuban moros y cristianos dish. It is served with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The beans in gallo pinto are cooked with garlic, oregano and onion. When the bean juice is in equal parts with the beans, they are then combined with leftover or previously prepared rice. The rice is prepared with bell peppers, salt and onions.
Etymology
[edit]Gallo pinto means "spotted rooster" in Spanish. The name is said to originate in the multi-colored or speckled appearance that results from cooking the rice with black or red beans.[3] The term may also be shortened to simply "pinto" depending on the region.
History
[edit]It is uncertain and disputed which country is the precise origin of the dish.[4] Both Nicaragua and Costa Rica claim it as their own, and its origin is a controversial subject between the two countries.[1][3] There is general agreement that the dish's origins are Afro-Caribbean.[1] The dish is mentioned in Carlos Luis Fallas' Mamita Yunai, which describes Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans working together on banana plantations encountering the dish and eventually taking it back home.[1]
Gallo pinto is one of many various Latin American plates that involve the preparation of the most integral ingredients for many cultures: rice and beans. Gallo pinto is considered to be a product of mestizos; a combination of beans, cultivated by Indigenous people of pre-Columbian time, and rice, a grain introduced by the Spanish. [5] Rice, originally from Asia, was introduced by Arabs in Spain and became a main but versatile ingredient in the 15th and 16th centuries. With the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish introduced rice quickly to Mexico and South America. It is suggested that within the 18th century, the cultivation of rice became relevant to Central America. This occurred as well with beans, which were cultivated centuries prior in Mesoamerica.[citation needed]
Regional variations
[edit]Costa Rica
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In Costa Rica it is eaten with Lizano sauce.[3] Traditionally in home preparation the dish is made from leftover rice and beans from the previous day's meals.[6][7][8] There are two main regional variations: the Valle Central version, which usually prepared with black beans, peppers, onions, and cilantro, and often includes Lizano sauce in the recipe; and the Guanacaste version, which is usually prepared with red beans and is fattier.[3]
The dish is often eaten for breakfast, but can be eaten for other meals or for a snack.[3][9] As a breakfast dish it is often served with some combination of eggs, fried plantains, corn tortillas, fried cheese, meat and fruit, and is often accompanied by natilla.[7][10][11] It is often served as a side dish at lunch.[12]
Nicaragua
[edit]In Nicaragua, where it is also called gallopinto, it is traditionally prepared with red silk beans and onions, usually cooked in vegetable oil, although animal fats such as lard are occasionally used.[2][13] In some recipes aromatics are left in large chunks and removed before serving.[13] When prepared at home it is traditionally uses day-old rice to allow the rice to dry out slightly so that grains are separated.[13]
The dish is eaten at any time of the day. It is commonly sold in fritangas, where it is served as a companion to various dishes.[14] The dish is eaten at any meal.[3] In some homes it is served at every meal.[13] It is often served garnished with pico de gallo and sour cream.
Panama
[edit]Guatemala
[edit]Contention
[edit]According to Costa Rica the dish dates to 1930s San Jose. According to Nicaragua it is based on a dish that was brought to the country by enslaved Africans much earlier.[3]
In 2003, the government of Costa Rica held an event at which nearly 1000 pounds of gallo pinto was cooked and served; the event was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. Nicaragua responded by preparing and serving 1200 pounds.[15] The competitions became an annual Gallo Pinto Day.[3] The competition between the two countries over ownership of the dish is sometimes referred to as the "Gallo Pinto War".[15]
Cultural importance
[edit]The dish is culturally important in both Costa Rica and Nicaragua.[3]
The dish is a national dish of Costa Rica and is the country's best known dish.[10][7][9][16] The phrase mas tico que el gallo pinto (more Costa Rican than spotted rooster) is a common saying in Costa Rica.[3] It is on the menu of most Costa Rican restaurants.[7] According to Costa Rican chef and food writer Isabel Campabadal, "If any one dish defines Costa Rican cuisine, it is gallo pinto".[12]
The dish is a staple in Nicaragua and considered on of its national dishes.[14][1] In 2019 Daniel Ortega proposed that Nicaragua needed to develop a "gallo pinto" economy, which Confidencial described as one that "appeal[ed] to the creativity and resistance of Nicaraguans to endure the hardships of an economic debacle caused by himself".[17]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Parker, Jenn (2017-11-07). "Costa Rica Vs Nicaragua: Who Really Invented Gallo Pinto?". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ a b Royal Spanish Academy y Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (2014). «gallopinto». Diccionario de la lengua española (23.ª edición). Madrid: Spain. ISBN 978-84-670-4189-7. Consulted October 19, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ray, Ranita (30 January 2023). "Gallo Pinto, A Famed Vegetarian Dish! But Why The Rooster Link?". Slurrp. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ Preston-Werner, Theresa (2020-07-10). "Gallo Pinto: Tradition, Memory, and Identity in Costa Rican Foodways". Journal of American Folklore. 122.
- ^ Arellano, J. E. (n.d.). Nuevo Elogio de la Gastronomía Nicaragüense. https://www.enriquebolanos.org/media/publicacion/RevistaTemasNicaraguenses59marzo2013.pdf#page=76
- ^ Fernandez, Ileana (2023-08-31). "Gallo Pinto: A Secret Behind Costa Rica's Nicoya Blue Zone". The Tico Times. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ a b c d Bustos, Laura Williams (2023-08-18). "16 Tips For Dining In Costa Rica Like A Local". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ Lopez, Jaime (2015-08-31). "The Afro Costa Rican Heritage of Gallo Pinto". Costa Rica Star News. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ a b "Gallo Pinto: The breakfast snack from Costa Rica". Deutsche Welle. 10 April 2023.
- ^ a b González, Sofía (2020-11-11). "What to Eat at Costa Rica's Dazzling Mercado Central". Eater. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ Baur, Joe (2023-04-15). "Gallo pinto: Costa Rica rice and beans". BBC. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ a b Hines, Nickolaus (6 November 2020). "12 Classic Costa Rican Dishes That Exemplify Pura Vida". Matador Network. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ a b c d del Mar Cuadra, María (9 February 2023). "Gallopinto (Nicaraguan Rice and Beans) Recipe". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ a b Maddicks, Russell (2017-10-02). "A Brief History Of Fritangas: Nicaragua's Popular Street Barbecues". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ a b "Costa Rica Strikes Back in Gallo Pinto War". The Tico Times. 2005-01-14. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ Miller, Bryan (2020-01-28). "Savoring Costa Rica, Sip By Sip". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
- ^ Salazar, Maynor (2019-01-03). "Ortega Offers Nicaragua "Reconciliation" & a Rice and Beans Economy". Confidencial. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
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