Honduran cuisine
Encyclopedia
Honduran
cuisine is a fusion of African, Spanish, and indigenous cuisine. Its most notable feature is that it uses more coconut
than any other Central America
n cuisine in both sweet and savory dishes. Regional specialties include fried fish
, tamale
s, carne asada
and baleada
s.
Other popular dishes include: meat roasted with chimol carne asada
, chicken with rice and corn, and fried fish with pickled onions and jalapeños. In the coastal areas and in the Bay Islands, seafood and some meats are prepared in many ways, some of which include coconut
milk.
Among the soups the Hondurans enjoy are bean
soup, mondongo soup (tripe soup), seafood
soups and beef
soups. Generally all of these soups are mixed with plaintains, yuca (cassava
) and cabbage, and served with corn
tortilla
s.
Other typical dishes are the montucas or corn tamale
, stuffed tortillas, and tamales wrapped in banana
leaves. Also part of Honduran typical dishes is an abundant selection of tropical fruits such as papaya
, pineapple
, plums, zapotes, passion fruit and bananas which are prepared in many ways while they are still green.
Soft drink
s are often drunk with dinner or lunch.
, Honduran salty sour cream (mantequilla), hard olancho cheese, avocado, sweet fried plantains, and tortillas. It is common for most households to first prepare tortillas, a staple for nearly every dish, which are used throughout the rest of the day. Other breakfast favorites include: carne asada (roasted meat) and Honduran spicy sausages (chorizo). Like many other places throughout the world, a good breakfast will be accompanied with hot, dark—in this case Honduran—coffee.
Street vendors often sell for breakfast baleadas made of the flour tortillas, toppings such as eggs, meat, and even pickled onions; And small Tamales made of sweet yellow corn dough, called "Tamalitos de Elote" eaten with sour cream; fresh Horchata and Posole is also common.
soup) is one of the most representative dishes of the Honduran cuisine. This soup was made famous throughout Latin America because of a catchy song from Banda Blanca called "Sopa de Caracol." The conch is cooked in coconut milk and the conch's broth, with spices, yuca (cassava
), cilantro, and green plaintains known as guineo verde. Other varieties including crab, fish or shrimp are known as Sopa Marinera.
counterpart, is usually more of a social event with drinks and music centered around a feast of barbecued meat. The cuts of beef are usually marinated in sour orange juice, salt, pepper and spices, and then grilled.
The meat is usually accompanied by chimol salsa (made of chopped tomatoes, onion and cilantro with lemon and spices), roasted plátanos (sweet bananas), spicy chorizos, olanchano cheese, tortillas, guacamole and refried mashed beans.
is a popular side dish in the Honduran Caribbean coast. The dish is typically cooked in coconut milk with cilantro and spices.
A famous dish throughout the country, which is found in the Yojoa Lake. The fish is spiced and salted and later deep fried. It is served with pickled onions, pickled red cabbage, and deep fried plátanos tajaditas (sliced bananas).
) is served with raw cabbage and lemon. On top of the cabbage, chicharrones—deep fried seasoned pork fat and skin—tomato-based hot sauce, and Mojo
.
Tortillas are to Hondurans what bread is to Europeans. Corn, or maíz, is a staple in Honduran cuisine. Eating corn comes to Hondurans as an inheritance of their Maya-Lenca ancestors; the Maya believed corn to be sacred, and that the father gods created men from it.
Some tortilla based dishes include:
Tacos Fritos: Tortillas are filled in with ground meat or chicken and rolled into a flute. The rolled tacos are then deep fried and served with raw cabbage, hot tomato sauce, cheese and sour cream as toppings.
Catrachitas: A common simple snack, made of deep fried tortilla chips covered with mashed refried beans, cheese and hot sauce. A variant of this snack are de Chilindrinas, deep fried tortilla strips with hot tomato sauce and cheese. It is common in Honduran restaurants to serve an Anafre, a clay pot with melting cheese or sour cream, mashed beans and sometimes chopped chorizo (Honduran sausage) heated on top of a clay container with burning charcoal, and tortilla fried chips to dip in. Similar to Swiss fondue.
Enchilada
s: The whole Tortilla is deep fried and served with a variety of toppings. First ground pork meat is placed, next raw chopped cabbage or lettuce, then hot tomato sauce, guacamole and a slice of boiled egg.
Chilaquiles: Tortillas are covered in egg and deep fried. Afterwards placed in a wide container to form a layer of tortilla as a base. Cheese, cooked chicken and hot tomato sauce with spices is then added. Again place another layer of tortillas and continue to do so to make something like a Tortilla Lasagna. Place in the oven and let cook until cheese melts and the tortillas are soft. Served with thick sour cream.
Tortilla con Quesillo: Two tortillas with quesillo, a melted cheese, in between and then pan fried; served with a tomato sauce. Mashed beans are sometimes also added as a filling with the cheese.
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
cuisine is a fusion of African, Spanish, and indigenous cuisine. Its most notable feature is that it uses more coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
than any other Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n cuisine in both sweet and savory dishes. Regional specialties include fried fish
Fish (food)
Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
, tamale
Tamale
A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...
s, carne asada
Carne asada
In Mexican cuisine, "Carne asada" is an item that consists of thin beef steak. The meat can be marinated by rubbing with olive oil and salt or with spice rubs such as lemon and pepper or garlic salt, lime, or Worcestershire sauce, before being cooked on a grill. The meat can be served alone or...
and baleada
Baleada
Baleadas are one of Honduras's most original and popular foods. A baleada is a wheat flour tortilla, often quite thick, folded in half and filled with mashed fried beans. They originate in El Progreso This is the no-frills baleada. People may also add other ingredients...
s.
Carne asada
In Mexican cuisine, "Carne asada" is an item that consists of thin beef steak. The meat can be marinated by rubbing with olive oil and salt or with spice rubs such as lemon and pepper or garlic salt, lime, or Worcestershire sauce, before being cooked on a grill. The meat can be served alone or...
, chicken with rice and corn, and fried fish with pickled onions and jalapeños. In the coastal areas and in the Bay Islands, seafood and some meats are prepared in many ways, some of which include coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
milk.
Among the soups the Hondurans enjoy are bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
soup, mondongo soup (tripe soup), seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
soups and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
soups. Generally all of these soups are mixed with plaintains, yuca (cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
) and cabbage, and served with corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
tortilla
Tortilla
In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
s.
Other typical dishes are the montucas or corn tamale
Tamale
A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...
, stuffed tortillas, and tamales wrapped in banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
leaves. Also part of Honduran typical dishes is an abundant selection of tropical fruits such as papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
, plums, zapotes, passion fruit and bananas which are prepared in many ways while they are still green.
Soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s are often drunk with dinner or lunch.
Honduran breakfast
Hondurans usually have a large, hearty breakfast. It typically consists of fried eggs (whole or scrambled), refried beansRefried beans
Refried beans is a dish of cooked and mashed beans and is a traditional staple of Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, although each cuisine has a somewhat different approach when making the dish.-Ingredients and preparation:...
, Honduran salty sour cream (mantequilla), hard olancho cheese, avocado, sweet fried plantains, and tortillas. It is common for most households to first prepare tortillas, a staple for nearly every dish, which are used throughout the rest of the day. Other breakfast favorites include: carne asada (roasted meat) and Honduran spicy sausages (chorizo). Like many other places throughout the world, a good breakfast will be accompanied with hot, dark—in this case Honduran—coffee.
Street vendors often sell for breakfast baleadas made of the flour tortillas, toppings such as eggs, meat, and even pickled onions; And small Tamales made of sweet yellow corn dough, called "Tamalitos de Elote" eaten with sour cream; fresh Horchata and Posole is also common.
Sopa de caracol
Sopa de caracol (conchConch
A conch is a common name which is applied to a number of different species of medium-sized to large sea snails or their shells, generally those which are large and have a high spire and a siphonal canal....
soup) is one of the most representative dishes of the Honduran cuisine. This soup was made famous throughout Latin America because of a catchy song from Banda Blanca called "Sopa de Caracol." The conch is cooked in coconut milk and the conch's broth, with spices, yuca (cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
), cilantro, and green plaintains known as guineo verde. Other varieties including crab, fish or shrimp are known as Sopa Marinera.
Carneada
Carneada is considered one of Honduras' national dishes, known as Plato Típico when served in Honduran restaurants. While it is a type of dish, a Carneada or Carne Asada, like its MexicanMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
counterpart, is usually more of a social event with drinks and music centered around a feast of barbecued meat. The cuts of beef are usually marinated in sour orange juice, salt, pepper and spices, and then grilled.
The meat is usually accompanied by chimol salsa (made of chopped tomatoes, onion and cilantro with lemon and spices), roasted plátanos (sweet bananas), spicy chorizos, olanchano cheese, tortillas, guacamole and refried mashed beans.
Rice and beans
Rice and beansRice and beans
Rice and beans is a very popular dish in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in communities of Latino, Caribbean or Sephardic...
is a popular side dish in the Honduran Caribbean coast. The dish is typically cooked in coconut milk with cilantro and spices.
Fried yojoa fish
Baleada
The baleada is one of the most common street foods in Honduras. The basic style is made of a flour tortilla which is folded and filled with refried beans, quesillo or Parmesan cheese and sour cream. Many people add roasted meat, avocado, plaintains or scrambled eggs as well. There are Honduran Fast-food chains that serve different kinds of Baleadas.Yuca con chicharrón
The yuca (cassavaCassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
) is served with raw cabbage and lemon. On top of the cabbage, chicharrones—deep fried seasoned pork fat and skin—tomato-based hot sauce, and Mojo
Mojo (sauce)
Mojo is the name, or abbreviated name, of several types of sauces, varying in spiciness, that originated in the Canary Islands. It is predominantly either a red , green or orange sauce....
.
Maize and tortillas
Some tortilla based dishes include:
Tacos Fritos: Tortillas are filled in with ground meat or chicken and rolled into a flute. The rolled tacos are then deep fried and served with raw cabbage, hot tomato sauce, cheese and sour cream as toppings.
Catrachitas: A common simple snack, made of deep fried tortilla chips covered with mashed refried beans, cheese and hot sauce. A variant of this snack are de Chilindrinas, deep fried tortilla strips with hot tomato sauce and cheese. It is common in Honduran restaurants to serve an Anafre, a clay pot with melting cheese or sour cream, mashed beans and sometimes chopped chorizo (Honduran sausage) heated on top of a clay container with burning charcoal, and tortilla fried chips to dip in. Similar to Swiss fondue.
Enchilada
Enchilada
An enchilada is a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with a variety of ingredients, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or combinations.-Etymology:...
s: The whole Tortilla is deep fried and served with a variety of toppings. First ground pork meat is placed, next raw chopped cabbage or lettuce, then hot tomato sauce, guacamole and a slice of boiled egg.
Chilaquiles: Tortillas are covered in egg and deep fried. Afterwards placed in a wide container to form a layer of tortilla as a base. Cheese, cooked chicken and hot tomato sauce with spices is then added. Again place another layer of tortillas and continue to do so to make something like a Tortilla Lasagna. Place in the oven and let cook until cheese melts and the tortillas are soft. Served with thick sour cream.
Tortilla con Quesillo: Two tortillas with quesillo, a melted cheese, in between and then pan fried; served with a tomato sauce. Mashed beans are sometimes also added as a filling with the cheese.
See also
- Cuisine of TegucigalpaCuisine of TegucigalpaThe cuisine of Tegucigalpa refers to the cuisine and restaurants of the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Rice, beans, and tortillas are a staple of the Honduran diet, and there is little difference in quality between streetside vendor or a top restaurant...