 | |
| Course | Lunch and dinner |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Colombia |
| Region or state | Antioquia |
| Created by | Countryside people or campesinos |
| Serving temperature | Warm, hot |
| Main ingredients | Pinto beans, whiterice,ground meat,chicharrón,fried egg,plantain (patacones, tajada),chorizo,arepa,black pudding (morcilla),avocado andmazamorra |
| Variations | Bandeja dearriero |
Bandeja paisa (Spanish pronunciation:[banˌdexaˈpai̯sa];lit. 'Paisa platter'), with variations known asbandeja dearriero,bandeja montañera, andbandeja antioqueña, is one of the most representative meals inColombian cuisine, especially of theAntioquia department and thePaisa region, as well as with theColombian Coffee-Growers Axis (the departments ofCaldas,Quindío andRisaralda,Tolima andValle del Cauca).Paisa refers to a person from thePaisa region andbandeja isSpanish forplatter.
The main characteristic of this dish is the generous amount and variety of food in a traditional bandeja paisa:red beans cooked withpork, whiterice, carne molida (ground meat),chicharrón,fried egg,plantain (plátano maduro),chorizo,arepa,hogao sauce,black pudding (morcilla),avocado andlemon.[1]It is served in a platter or atray.[2]
The origin of the bandeja paisa wasinfluenced by several different cultures that inhabited Colombia throughout the centuries, including theindigenous peoples of Colombia, as well ascolonial Spaniards andAfricans. In the 19th century, French and British colonialists also brought their cuisine with them.[3]
The current form and presentation of the Paisa platter is relatively recent. There are no references in thefood writing about this dish before 1950. It is probably an interpretation of the local restaurants of simpler peasant dishes. One of its most prominent features is the juxtaposition ofnative American and European ingredients, which is also observed in othermestizo dishes ofLatin American cuisine, such asVenezuelanpabellón criollo orCosta Ricangallo pinto.
A Paisa platter is traditionally served in a large, oval-shaped tray due to the large amount of food that is served.Side dishes includemazamorra (amaize-derived beverage similar toatole) withmilk and groundpanela.
There are several variants of the dish all over the country with deletion or addition of ingredients, which cannot be recognized as bandeja paisa in the strictest sense. SomeAntioquian restaurants offer an "extended" bandeja paisa, also known as "seven meats platter", which contains, besides the aforementioned ingredients, grilledsteak, grilledpork andliver. Adiet-friendly version of the dish is very popular inBogotá, which replaces pork with grilledchicken breast, skips black pudding and chorizo or replaces it with awiener.[4]
In 2005, the Colombian government planned to make bandeja paisa thenational dish, with the name to be changed tobandeja montañera ("mountain tray") to avoid the exclusion of people from outside the Paisa region. A number of people opposed this designation, arguing that only a small percentage of the Colombian population consumes it on a regular basis and that it originated in only a single region of Colombia (Antioquia).[5] However, the suggested alternative,sancocho, is not a distinctively Colombian dish, as it is known and enjoyed in many other countries, such asCuba,Venezuela, theCanary Islands,Puerto Rico, theDominican Republic andPanama.[6] Due to the international ubiquity of sancocho, Colombianajiaco is often considered the most definitive Colombian dish instead.
Nonetheless, the commercial Colombian tourism industry has pushed ahead without official government sanction by emblazoning ads, menus, and brochure information with imagery of the bandeja paisa as the single most typical Colombian dish.[7]
