Latin Christmas Dishes From 12 Countries, Any Look Familiar?
Latino Christmas dishes and traditions are as diverse as their origins. Some similarities and many differences.
Work, Life & Culture is a blend of tradition and success. Being Latin, Hispanic or Latino means a diverse set customs, food dishes, dialects and holidays. As an example, let’s look at one holiday, Christmas yielding a wide range of traditional foods or dishing.
Here are 12 geographies- 12 days of Christmas:
Argentina
- Vitel toné
- Turrón
- Pan dulce
- Asado (beef, chicken, calf, lamb, suckling pig)
- Cider (apple, pineapple) and Venezuela
- Hallaca – rectangle-shaped meal made of maize, filled with beef, pork, olives, raisins and caper, and wrapped in plantain leaves
- Pan de jamón – ham-filled bread with olives and raisins
- Dulce de lechosa – dessert made of cooked sliced unripe papaya in sugar syrup
- Ensalada de gallina – salad made of potato, carrot, apple and shredded chicken
- Pernil- roast pork shoulder
- Budín
- Salads
- Pionono
- Russian salad
- Matambre
- Lengua a la vinagreta
- Garrapiñadas
- Waldorf salad
Brazil
- Lombo à Califórnia – pork loins
- Rabanada – French toast
- Pernil – roast pork
- Perú – roast turkey
- Bacalhau – codfish
- Farofa – raw manioc flour roasted with butter, salt, bacon or smoked meat, and spices, with a smoky and slightly salty taste
- Brazil nut
- Panettone
Chile
- Pan de pascua
- Cola de mono – (Literally, “Monkey’s Tail) A Chilean Christmas beverage, with aguardiente, milk, coffee, and flavoured with vanilla and cloves[16]
- Pan de Pascua – Chilean Christmas sponge cake flavoured with cloves and with bits of candied fruits, raisins, walnuts and almonds.[17]
- Roasted turkey
- Ponche a la romana – Eggnog-style beverage made of champagne and pineapple-flavoured icecream.
Colombia
- Colombian Buñuelos
- Colombian natilla
- Colombian Christmas dishes are mostly sweets and desserts. Some of the most popular dishes include:
- Buñuelos
- Natilla
- Manjar blanco
- Hojaldres
- Brevas dessert with cheese
- Christmas cookies
- Sweet bread filled with fruits like raisins and raspberries.
Cuba
- Crema De Vie – Cuban eggnog, made with condensed milk, rum, sugar syrup, lemon rind, cinnamon, and egg yolk.
- Majarete – corn pudding made with coconut milk, fresh corn, cornstarch, milk, water, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar
- Platillo Moros y Cristianos
- Lechon asado
- Turrón
Dominican Republic
- Moro de guandules con coco – rice with pigeon peas and coconut milk
- Vaniljekranse – Danish butter cookies
- ponche – eggnog
- Ensalada verde – Iceberg letters, onions, cucumber and tomatoes salad.
- Bread pudding
- Majarete – corn pudding made with coconut milk, fresh corn, cornstarch, milk, water, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar
- Russian potato salad
- Macaroni salad
- Pasteles de hojas – Root tamales
- Jengibre – ginger tea
- Pig roast
- Pollo al Horno – Roasted Chicken
- Telera – Dominican bread similar to Mexican Telera
- Fruit platter – Consists of oranges, apples, bananas, grapes, and mangos
- Cheese and guava platter – a platter with squared white cheese, yellow potato cheese, soda crackers, and guava paste chunks
Guatemala
- Tamales
- Ponche (Christmas fruit punch served hot with lots of fruits)
- pavo (Turkey)
- Buñuelos (Fluffy sweet dessert made with corn with maple syrup)
- Chicken (Prepared with different stuffings and accompanied with various side dishes such as salads or rice)
- Next page Mexico-Panama-Puerto Rico-Spain and Venezuela
Mexico
- Christmas roast
- pavo – Stuffed, roasted Turkey served with gravy.
- Ensalada de Noche Buena – Christmas Eve Salad
- Russian potato salad – Side dish to turkey, particularly popular in northern states.
- Bacalao – clipfish or cod, traditionally eaten in the central and southern states of Mexico.
- Romeritos – also a Christmas tradition of the central region, romeritos are small green leaves of a particular type mixed generally with mole and potatoes; generally accompanied with “tortitas de camarón” (shrimp bread)
- Tamales – Tamales can sometimes replace the traditional Turkey or Bacalao with romeritos, particularly in northern and southern parts of Mexico.
- Menudo – A Christmas morning tradition in northwestern states, menudo is a tripe and hominy soup, not to be confused with southern ‘panzita’. Menudo is often prepared the night before (Christmas Eve) as its cooking time can take up to 5 hours.
- Ponche – a hot, sweet drink made with apples, sugar cane, prunes and tejocotes. For grown-ups, ponche is never complete without its “piquete” – either tequila or rum
- Marshmallow fruit salad – marshmallow with fruit cocktail, sugar and sour cream. Sometimes dried coconut, ground cinnamon and/or nuts are also added.
- Pineapple Upside-down cake – Turned-over cake with cherries and pineapples.
- Glazed ham – Ham glazed with honey or sugar with cherries and pineapples on top.
Panama
- Arroz con Pollo
- Tamales
- Ham
- Turkey
- Grapes
- Fruit cake
- Egg nog
- Potato salad
- Pan de Rosca
Puerto Rico
- Arroz con gandules – yellow-rice and pigeon peas with olives, capers, and pieces of ham.
- Ensalada de pulpo – octopus salad
- Escabeche – boiled green bananas and chicken gizzards in Puerto Rican style escabeche.
- Macaroni salad – with tuna and peppers
- Morcilla
- Pasteles
- Pasteles de guineo
- Pasteles de yucca
- Pastelón – sweet plantain “lasagna” smiler to pionono.
- Pig roast
- Potato salad – made with chorizo and hard-boiled eggs.
Spain
- Jamón (Spanish Dry-Cured Ham)
- Roasted turkey
- Roasted lamb
- Seafood
- Langostinos – (king prawn)
- Shrimp
- Lobster
- Crab
- Dorado
- Sweets
- Turrón
- Yema – egg-based dessert
- Mantecados & polvorones – crumbly cakes
- Marzipan, almond cakes
- King cake known as roscón de Reyes in Spanish and tortell in Catalan.
Venezuela
- Hallaca
- Hallaca – rectangle-shaped meal made of maize, filled with beef, pork, olives, raisins and caper, and wrapped in plantain leaves
- Pan de jamón – ham-filled bread with olives and raisins
- Dulce de lechosa – dessert made of cooked sliced unripe papaya in sugar syrup
- Ensalada de gallina – salad made of potato, carrot, apple and shredded chicken
- Pernil- roast pork shoulder
See more Latin, Hispanic and Latino Christmas dishes around the world at Wikipedia
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