Latin American

Bandeja Paisa

Colombia's most demanding and generous plate — a traditional meal from Antioquia province that places on a single tray: red beans cooked with pork belly, white rice, carne molida (seasoned ground beef), chicharrón (fried pork rind), morcilla (blood sausage), chorizo, fried egg, plain arepa, ripe plantain, and avocado. The dish is not a recipe but a category — an assembly of individually prepared components, each made with care, that together constitute the complete expression of Antioquian gastronomy. It is classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage in Colombia. No component is incidental: the beans anchor the plate with earthy depth, the chicharrón provides crunch and fat, the arepa provides neutral starch, the egg provides richness, the avocado provides cooling cream.

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ServesFour portions (one tray each)

Sourced1of 20 in BC

Cook

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The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

For the frijoles antioqueños

400 g

dried red beans (cargamanto or kidney)

soaked overnight in cold water

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

250 g

pork belly

cut into 3 cm pieces

Your own market

1 tsp

ground cumin

Your own market

200 g

hogao (tomato-onion sauce)

divided — half for beans, half to serve alongside

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

For the hogao

ripe plum tomatoes

finely chopped

Origin · ItalyBosa Foods · Vancouver →

spring onions

finely sliced

Your own market

30 ml

vegetable oil

Your own market

For the chicharrón

600 g

pork rind (skin-on belly strips)

scored on the skin side

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

For the carne molida

400 g

ground beef

Your own market

100 g

hogao

for seasoning the beef

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

1 tsp

ground cumin

Your own market

For the rice

400 g

long-grain white rice

rinsed

Your own market

For the fried plantain

ripe plantains

skin yellow-black; sliced diagonally 1 cm thick

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

30 ml

vegetable oil

for frying

Your own market

For the eggs

eggs

fried to order

Your own market

To assemble

plain corn arepas

prepared or purchased; warmed

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

morcilla (blood sausage)

grilled or pan-fried

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

Colombian-style chorizo

grilled or pan-fried

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

ripe avocados

halved or sliced at service

Your own market

To serve

ají (Colombian fresh chilli sauce)

served alongside

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

The Method

The day before service, drain the soaked beans and place them in a large pot with the pork belly pieces and enough cold water to cover by 5 cm. Bring to the boil, skim the foam, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook until the beans are completely tender and the broth is thick and deep-coloured — a bean pressed between two fingers should offer no resistance and collapse to a smooth paste.

Stir half the hogao and the ground cumin into the cooked beans. Taste and season with salt. Allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight. The following day, reheat gently; the beans will have absorbed the pork fat and thickened to a creamy consistency. The broth should coat a spoon — if too thin, simmer uncovered until it tightens.

To make the hogao, warm the oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the spring onions and cook until softened, then add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have broken down entirely and the sauce is a thick, cohesive, jammy mass that holds its shape briefly when the spoon draws a line through it. Season with salt and cumin. Reserve half for the beans; keep the remainder to serve alongside.

For the chicharrón, place the scored pork strips in a cold deep pan. Add just enough water to cover the base and render the fat over medium heat until the water has fully evaporated and the pork is swimming in its own rendered fat. Increase the heat and continue frying until the rind puffs, blisters, and turns a deep amber. This is where the dish lives or dies: chicharrón that is pale or yielding is rubbery and without merit; it must shatter audibly when pressed.

For the carne molida, brown the ground beef in a wide pan over high heat, breaking it into fine crumbles. When no pink remains and the beef has taken on colour, stir in the hogao and ground cumin. Cook for a further 3–4 minutes until the sauce is absorbed and the mixture is fragrant and cohesive. Taste and correct the seasoning.

Cook the rinsed rice by absorption in salted water. When all water has been absorbed and the grains are dry and separate — a wooden spoon drawn across the surface leaves a clean furrow — remove from heat and allow to steam, covered, for 5 minutes.

Grill or pan-fry the chorizo and morcilla over medium heat until the skins are browned and the casings feel taut and firm when pressed lightly with a finger.

In a separate pan, warm the oil over medium heat and fry the plantain slices gently, turning once, until each side is golden and the slices are tender throughout. Plantain overcooks quickly; remove them the moment the flesh yields to a gentle press and the cut edges are caramelised. Cook these last.

Fry the eggs to order in a little oil — the whites fully set, the yolks still liquid and bright. Place immediately onto the tray.

Assemble each tray simultaneously so that all components reach the table at serving temperature together. Arrange beans, rice, carne molida, chicharrón, chorizo, morcilla, fried egg, arepa, plantain, and avocado on a single large tray (bandeja). Serve the reserved hogao and the ají in small dishes alongside. No component is incidental; the absence of any one reduces the plate.

III

Quality Hierarchy

Reserve — Dried cargamanto beans from Antioquia cooked the day before with fresh pork belly; house-made morcilla and fresh-ground chorizo from a Paisa butcher; double-cream avocado from Colombia; hand-formed masa arepas cooked on a comal.

Estate — Dried kidney or cranberry beans cooked the day before; good-quality commercially produced morcilla and chorizo; avocado at peak ripeness; purchased plain corn arepas of good quality.

Market — Dried beans cooked same-day; supermarket chorizo and morcilla; avocado halved and served with skin; packaged arepas warmed in a dry pan.

House — Canned beans finished with hogao and cumin — flat in flavour but serviceable; pre-cooked sausages; plantain and egg as the plate's saving components.

Sensory Tests

◇Touch. A cooked bean pressed between two fingers collapses without resistance to a smooth paste — the frijoles are done.

◇Sight. The hogao holds its shape briefly when a spoon draws a line through it — the sauce has reduced sufficiently.

◇Sound. The chicharrón shatters audibly when pressed — the rind has puffed and crisped to the correct texture.

◇Sight. The rice grains are separate and dry, with a clean furrow left by a spoon drawn across the surface — the absorption is complete.

◇Touch. The plantain yields to a gentle press and the cut edges are caramelised — remove immediately before the flesh softens further.

◇Touch. The sausage casing feels taut and firm under light finger pressure — the morcilla and chorizo are cooked through.

◇Where it lives or dies. The chicharrón must be deep-fried to a deep amber, audibly shattering crunch — pale, soft pork rind is rubbery and without merit, and no other component can compensate for it.

Pillar V

Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.

The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.

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