Food around the world - A serving of Cartagena Colombia

 Nashauna Drummond, Acting Lifestyle Editor

She greets you with a warm smile and hugs like a long-lost friend. Gertrudis Martinez, wife of Colombian ambassador to Jamaica Luis Guillermo Martinez, recently welcomed Food Around the World to her Jack's Hill home, for a taste of her coastal home town of Cartagena.

Colombian cuisine is rich and diverse. The geographic diversity of the country - mountains, jungle and ranch lands, means the food varies from region to region. The food of the region along the Caribbean coastline is very similar to ours, including a lot of fish and plantain. In the Llanos of the east, barbecued meat is very common because of the Wild West-like nature of that region.

In broken English, Martinez explained to Food that, unlike Jamaicans, Colombians do not like heavy dinners. Their heaviest meal will be lunch and then a sandwich or light soup for dinner. With her trademark smile, she notes that she likes to cook, but so far in Jamaica, the only dish she has mastered is steam fish. But she is quite content to enjoy the meals of Cellia Brown, who also served as our translator. Since her years in Jamaica, she has been enjoying everything Jamaican and notes, even after her husband's tour ends, Jamaica will hold a special place in her heart.

From the coastal city of Cartagena on the northern coast of Colombia, the cuisine is very similar to that of the Caribbean - fish, plantain and cassava (calimonola), are just a few of the ingredients we have in common. The dishes she shared with Food were no everyday dishes. Martinez notes that our fare of coconut rice, limo fino (beef) and Boronia (eggplant and plantain) is usually served on special occasions such as Christmas, birthdays and our visit.

Coconut rice is a common side dish in Cartagena. Made with real coconut milk and raisins added to the rice, it is a sweet savoury dish that would go great with any meal. The limo fino is cooked very quickly to medium rare, and the Boronia is a great side casserole that I will definitely be trying at home. And so should you. Here are the recipes below.

Coconut rice with raisins

1 coconut

4 cups rice

8 cups coconut milk

¹/² stick butter

1 cup raisins

3 spoons brown sugar

Salt to taste

Method

Grate the coconut, add warm water. Squeeze to extract the milk then put milk in pot and add sugar and bring to a boil.

Boil until it is a custard. To the remaining coconut trash, add seven cups of warm water. Put in blender then squeeze until you get seven cups. The best colour for the custard is brown like a cinnamon stick.

When the custard is brown, add the remaining coconut milk then salt. Boil for five minutes then add four cups rice. Let it simmer for another 15 minutes then add raisins. Let simmer for another five minutes then remove. Cover and let cook for another 20 minutes.

Boronia (eggplant and ripe plantain)

4 very ripe plantains

6 eggplants

2 tomatoes

2 onions

1 head garlic

Salt

Method

Do not peel plantains but cut in four pieces.

Put to boil for 20 minutes then cut eggplants in half and boil until soft.

Remove eggplants from pot and use spoon to remove meat from the skin (do not use the skin).

Remove the plantains and remove the skin

Mash plantains with eggplant very well, adding sugar and salt to taste.

In a separate pot, sauté tomatoes, onion and garlic with a little olive oil.

Mix in with plantain and eggplant mixture or serve on top.