SAN JOSE – The annual gallo pinto fair held at Paseo Colon earlier today managed to attract more people than the Calle 13 concert on Friday night at the nearby La Sabana metropolitan park.

The culinary activity, which showcases the most representative folkloric dish in Costa Rica, was part of the “Smoke-Free Sundays” initiative that the Municipality of San Jose is promoting each year. During each Smoke-Free Sunday, one of the main arteries of downtown San Jose is closed to vehicular traffic. Smoke-Free means that pedestrians are asked to take tobacco products away from the event as well.

Today’s gallo pinto fair coincided with the 2012 International Festival of the Arts. Newspaper La Prensa Libre estimates that almost 100,000 people enjoyed a nice portion of gallo pinto, sour cream and tortillas. More than a ton of rice and beans were used for the preparation, which began Saturday night. There were other folk recipes available for testing as well, including rice pudding and sweet bean pie.

Charismatic Mayor Johnny Araya stopped by to monitor the activities and to remind everyone that next week will be the last Smoke-Free Sunday of the season.

The Elusive Authentic Gallo Pinto Recipe

There are many recipes floating around for preparation of our most delicious national dish, and this makes it difficult to narrow down all recipes into a standard one for gallo pinto.

Variations on gallo pinto exist from region to region, and even from household to household. Finding consensus is almost impossible, but we can trust the Department of Social Action at the University of Costa Rica to have a pretty good idea on how a proper gallo pinto should be prepared.

The following recipe is from the Costa Rica Traditions web site unveiled late last year by the University of Costa Rica. On that site, the UCR staff has carefully researched many traditional recipes to ensure that they are as authentic as they can be:

History

This is a recipe of Afro-Caribbean heritage. It became the most popular dish sometime in the 1800s, and it attracted many cooks because it was inexpensive, simple to make and satisfying. Technically speaking, the Limon recipe of red beans and rice cooked in coconut milk is the first gallo pinto in Costa Rica. Once it made its way out of the Caribbean zone, gallo pinto was transformed into the following recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 spoonfuls of diced onions
• 3 spoonfuls of diced bell peppers
• 1 spoonful of margarine
• 3 cups of cooked white rice
• 2 cups of cooked black beans (or red), unstrained
• 1 cup of bean broth
• 4 spoonfuls of chopped cilantro

Preparation

• In a frying pan, saute the garlic, onion and bell peppers in the margarine
• Add the beans and allow them to cook for a minute
• Add the rice and stir together
• Add the cilantro at the end and stir together

There are many variations of the above recipe that call for the use of pepper, bomba spice, Salsa Lizano, and other tasty ingredients. Cooks should not feel limited by the recipe above. If you know of any other variations on how to make gallo pinto, or other cool recipes, please let us know.