Costa Ricans are very proud of their unique, healthy and delicious foods. The traditional food here is called comida tipica, or typical food. Some examples of comida tipica include gallo pinto (rice and beans), arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), olla de carne (beef and vegetable soup) and carne en salsa (beef and a tomato sauce). Comida tipica is usually 100% locally sourced!
A new food that I tried this week is called tamal mudo. Tamal mudo is a small round piece of dough with an inner filling of either black beans or mashed potatoes. The dough is made the same way that typical tamale dough is made (usually with corn flour). Tamal mudo is very popular during semana santa or "Holy Week" when many people are off work or school and attend daily masses (Catholic religion) on the days leading up to Easter.
The tamal mudo is super soft, so this food essentially melted in my mouth when I first tried it. It kind of tasted like a really doughy bread without much flavor. I tried tamal mudo with black beans in the middle, and the black beans were the best part in my opinion.
