Vegetarian recipes from Costa Rica

Costa Rican cooking is mild and rice-heavy. The base is three things: long-grain rice, black beans and gentle frying in vegetable oil, lifted by a sofrito of sweet pepper, onion, garlic and culantro. Gallo pinto, rice and beans fried together with the bean cooking liquid and a Lizano-style sauce, is breakfast and returns at other meals. Fresh maize gives the thick griddle cakes called chorreadas, and cassava, everywhere, is fried or mashed.

The standard plate is the casado: rice, beans, cabbage salad, fried plantain, a cooked vegetable and sometimes egg or fresh cheese, all served at once rather than in courses. That format makes the meatless version obvious, since the protein already comes from the rice and bean pairing. Locally grown heart of palm replaces the meat filling in arroz con palmito, and enyucados show cassava the other way, mashed, stuffed and fried. Seasoning stays green and fresh, with no hot chilli.