By Mia Hanuska
Welcome to the Traveling Cart! I’m Mia Hanuska, and I’ll be your guide on this world tour. Each issue, the cart travels to a new country and explores its history and culture through a customized 3-course meal of traditional dishes cooked by yours truly. This issue, the cart has ventured to the beautiful humid coasts of Nicaragua.
About Nicaragua
Pronunciation: ni-kr-aa-gwuh
National Language: Spanish
Population: 7 million
Capital: Managua
Flag: 🇳🇮
A Very Condensed History of Nicaragua
Colonized in the 1500s by Spanish explorer Pedro Arias Dávila, Nicaraguan natives were quickly eradicated from the country. Within just thirty years of colonization, the indigenous population shrunk from over a million to merely a couple tens of thousands due to a lack of immunity to Old World diseases and enslavement by the Spanish. Once established in the country, Spain used Nicaragua as backwater, using the country to facilitate commerce through their empire on the Pacific coast of the country. On the opposing coast, however, the British made a deal with the Caribbean coastal people, and established the area as a British dependency.
In 1821, Nicaragua was combined into the First Mexican Empire, which ended up only lasting two years. After the collapse of the First Mexican Empire, Nicaragua joined the United Provinces of Central America and later gained its independence in 1840.
An ideological war broke out soon after independence, with the different coasts pushing opposing goals: the liberal west coast was flourishing in trade while the conservative east coast wanted to maintain the old protectionist system. This war lasted nearly 40 years, and had U.S. Marine intervention in attempts to guide the country to civility. The U.S. then exerted its political influence on the country, controlling large amounts of the trade on the Caribbean coast.
The United States and Nicaragua have historically had great disagreements, and these continue to today. When building a strait through Central America, the United States originally looked toward Nicaragua, but eventually signed for neutrality in the region. Military presence in the country ended in 1928 after anti-U.S. presidents in Nicaragua pressured them to leave.
Natural disasters in the country have left it in deep foreign debt, despite its previously booming economy. During a revolution following multiple poor presidents, governmental reform resulted in the creation of a middle class and “social wage” (support for the average citizen). The country still suffers from the ideological divide from its original colonization, with revolutions and rebellions not uncommon.
This Stop’s Menu
Main: Sopa de Queso con Donas de Masa
Side Dish: Gallopinto
Sweet Treat: Plátanos Calados
Main: Sopa de Queso con Donas de Masa / Cheese Soup with Corn Donuts
Sopa de Queso, or cheese soup, is a traditional dish eaten on Fridays during Lent since Catholics don’t eat meat on these days. Every household has their own version and recipe, typically including a variety of local ingredients. Combined with the donas de masa, or corn donuts, the dish’s focus on corn highlights the importance of the ingredient. To Nicaragua, corn isn’t just an ingredient: it’s the backbone of the culture. It’s not farmed on a large-scale, but instead, simply by families for themselves.
To make this, I followed this recipe from Hispanic Kitchen. I can’t say I recommend the recipe though, because after following the instructions exactly, my soup did not turn out well. It’s supposed to be thickened by the corn flour; however, my soup never thickened and just tasted like slightly warmed milk with bell peppers and onions. My dad enjoyed it (“anything with onions in it is good”), but I think it would turn out better if it was actually soup consistency. The donuts on the other hand… My dough for the donuts was super crumbly, so I opted to not have a hole in the middle, but they turned out incredible! Super cheesy and perfectly crispy, I would definitely make these again. They’re also super filling and satisfying. Highly recommend trying the masa donuts!
Side Dish: Gallopinto
Gallopinto, translated literally to “spotted rooster,” is a rice and beans dish served at nearly every Nicaraguan meal. The techniques used to cook the dish originate from the environmental requirements in the country—such as picking out debris from the beans’ bags and boiling them from scratch. The origin is disputed between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, with legends describing the dish coming from both groups working together on plantations and taking the meal back to their respective communities.
I used this recipe from serious eats for this dish. Starting the night before my big cooking day, I suffered through the typical Traveling Cart onion tears to prepare the rice. It’s cooked with a single big piece of bell pepper on top, the purpose of which I’m slightly confused by. I couldn’t taste any bell pepper flavor in the rice, but maybe it was just too subtle. Letting the rice chill in the fridge, I started the next day on the beans—a very arduous process. Between soaking, boiling, simmering, letting sit, then boiling and simmering again, just rehydrating the beans took well over two hours. I also messed up by adding the garlic before letting the beans soak, so they were super garlicky in the end. Regardless, this dish was pretty decent, although fairly bland. There’s no spices other than garlic and salt, but my mom had the brilliant idea of making burritos with the gallopinto, so we’ll be trying that. The texture was nice and with a couple more spices this could be top-tier.
Sweet Treat: Plátanos Calados / Glazed Plantains
To make this, I used this recipe from caribbeanpot on YouTube. Serving as a significant portion of the Nicaraguan economy, plantains provide nearly $10 million in revenue for the country. Plantains are also a strong pillar of the cuisine, dished both ripe and green and acting as a main ingredient in many meals.
I opted to skip the coconut cream, but these were really delicious regardless! The caramelization got a little crispy on the edges and provided a nice crunch to balance the softness of the plantain. Taking less than 20 minutes, this is an easy treat that any plantain-lover should try. I could also see this working well with bananas, although they might fall apart. If I could give one tip, it’d be to not wait until your plantain is nearly moldy, you might feel more comfortable eating it…
Thank you for joining the Traveling Cart as we dove into the history of Nicaragua through making three delicious dishes! If you’re interested in learning more about Nicaragua, I’ve scribed a few sources on the back of this parchment you can check out. Ah, the horses are ready to head back home—that’s a wrap for this adventure!
Sources