Today we're heading to sunny Colombia—a country where every region takes pride in its unique culinary traditions. We're making two iconic dishes that have won the hearts of Colombians and travelers from around the world.
🐷 Lechona Tolimense
The legendary festive dish from the Tolima region—a whole roasted pork belly stuffed with rice, peas, and spices. The skin becomes incredibly crispy while the filling soaks up pork fat and aromas.
Ingredients:
• Pork belly with skin (1.5-2 kg piece)
• Short-grain rice — 300 g
• Green peas (fresh or frozen) — 200 g
• Ground pork — 300 g
• Yellow onion — 2 large heads
• Green onion — 1 bunch
• Garlic — 6 cloves
• Cumin — 2 tsp
• Sweet paprika — 1 tsp
• Annatto (can substitute turmeric) — 1 tsp
• Salt — to taste
• Black pepper — 1 tsp
• Vegetable oil — 3 tbsp
Preparation:
Prepare the meat: rinse the pork belly, pat dry with paper towels. With a sharp knife, make a deep horizontal cut along the piece, forming a pocket for the stuffing—the blade should run parallel to the skin without cutting through it. The pocket should take up roughly 70% of the piece's thickness. Rub the meat inside and out with salt (1 tbsp) and black pepper, leave for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Cook the rice: boil rice in salted water until half-done (7-8 minutes after boiling)—the grains should stay firm in the center but not crunch. Drain in a colander, rinse with cold water and let drain completely.
Make the filling: finely dice the yellow onion into 3-4 mm cubes, slice green onion into 5 mm rings, mince garlic with a knife to a paste. Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium heat, sauté yellow onion until translucent (4-5 minutes). Add ground pork, breaking it up with a spatula, cook until fully browned (6-7 minutes). The meat should be crumbly with no pink spots. Add garlic, cumin, paprika, annatto, cook another 2 minutes until bright spice aroma appears. Add peas, sauté 3 minutes. Mix skillet contents with cooked rice and green onion, salt to taste. Filling should be moist but not wet.
Stuff the meat: tightly pack the pocket in the belly with rice filling, tamping it down with a spoon—filling should distribute evenly along the entire length. Don't overfill or it will leak out during roasting. Sew the opening with kitchen twine in large stitches (2-3 cm spacing) or secure with wooden skewers. Prick the skin on the outside with a fork in 20-30 places—this ensures a crispy crust.
Roast: preheat oven to 160°C. Place stuffed belly on a rack skin-side up, put a baking pan with water (1 cm deep) under the rack—this prevents burning. Roast 2.5 hours, spraying the skin with water from a spray bottle every 40 minutes. Meat is done when internal temperature reaches 70-72°C.
Create the crust: increase oven temperature to 220°C, roast another 20-25 minutes until a dark golden, bubbly crust forms. Skin should crackle when tapped with a spoon. Remove from oven, let rest 15 minutes.
Serve: slice lechona crosswise into 2 cm thick slices—each piece should include crispy skin, meat, and rice filling. Traditionally served with arepas (corn flatbreads), avocado, and spicy ají sauce.
💡 Fact: In Colombia, lechona is traditionally prepared for major celebrations, roasting a whole piglet in a special clay oven for 10-12 hours. In the city of Espinal, the capital of lechona, there's a monument to this dish, and local masters pass down preparation secrets from generation to generation.
🦐 Cazuela de Mariscos
A luxurious Caribbean seafood stew in coconut broth with vegetables and spices. Thick, aromatic, with a light heat and tender texture—the quintessence of Colombia's coastal cuisine.
Ingredients:
• Large shrimp (peeled) — 300 g
• White fish fillet (tilapia, cod) — 300 g
• Mussels (cleaned, can be frozen) — 200 g
• Squid (rings) — 150 g
• Coconut milk — 400 ml
• Fish or vegetable broth — 300 ml
• Tomatoes — 3 large
• Red bell pepper — 1
• Yellow onion — 1 large head
• Green onion — 4 stalks
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Fresh cilantro — 1 bunch
• Cumin — 1 tsp
• Paprika — 1 tsp
• Chili pepper (or flakes) — to taste
• Vegetable oil — 2 tbsp
• Salt — to taste
• Lime — 1
Preparation:
Prepare the seafood: peel shrimp, remove the intestinal vein (dark line along the back), rinse and dry. Cut fish fillet into 3-4 cm cubes. If using whole squid bodies, cut into 1 cm thick rings. Thaw mussels if frozen. All seafood should be room temperature before cooking.
Prepare the vegetable base: score tomatoes with an X at the base, plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds, then into ice water—skin will come off easily. Cut peeled tomatoes into 1 cm cubes, removing seeds. Cut bell pepper into 5-7 mm wide strips. Dice yellow onion into small 5 mm cubes, slice green onion into rings including the green part. Mince garlic to a paste. Finely chop half the cilantro, save the rest for serving.
Create an aromatic base: in a deep thick-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté yellow onion until golden (5-6 minutes), add garlic, cook 1 minute until fragrant—garlic shouldn't darken. Add cumin, paprika, and chili, stir and cook 30 seconds. Spices should release aroma but not burn.
Build the broth: add diced tomatoes and bell pepper, simmer over medium heat 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes turn into a thick mass and pepper softens. Pour in fish broth and coconut milk, stir thoroughly, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to minimum, salt, simmer 10 minutes. Broth should thicken slightly and take on a creamy tone.
Add seafood sequentially: first place fish cubes, simmer gently 3 minutes—fish will start whitening at edges. Add shrimp and squid, cook another 2 minutes—shrimp should turn pink and curl. Last, add mussels and chopped cilantro, cook 2 minutes to heat mussels through. Don't overcook seafood—it should stay tender, not rubbery.
Finalize the flavor: taste the broth, adjust salt. Add green onion, turn off heat. Squeeze juice from half a lime directly into the pot, stir gently. Let the dish rest covered for 5 minutes—flavors should come together.
Serve: ladle cazuela into deep bowls, making sure each portion has all types of seafood. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and a lime wedge. Traditionally served with white rice, arepas or crispy cassava (yuca) toasts and a bottle of hot sauce.
💡 Fact: Cazuela de mariscos is the calling card of Colombia's Caribbean coast, especially Cartagena. The name 'cazuela' comes from the clay pot in which the dish is traditionally cooked and served. In coastal restaurants, fishermen bring seafood twice a day, and chefs prepare cazuela from the freshest catch—that's the key to authentic flavor.