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I try to walk for an hour every day. It doesn’t always happen – especially when it is cold or when Covid messes up my life. But, when in sunny Belize, I try to walk every morning.
It’s a unique experience walking along rural Ambergris Caye. There are many Belizean gardeners and property managers outside while I stroll the island. And, they are friendly. Back home in Ohio, people nod and say hello. It’s different in Belize. People stop me and want to talk. They want to show me the flower gardens they tend. They want me to feel welcome.
None of them could be any friendlier than Luis. When he stopped me, I asked one of my favorite questions. What should I eat in Belize? His answer was relleno. (The two l’s have a “y” sound.) I never heard of that dish. So, I had to ask, “Do you prepare it with iguana?” The answer might surprise you. “Guatemalans eat iguana. We don’t eat that in Belize.”
My sister knew all about relleno. Her Belizean friends had prepared it before. She knew all about how time consuming it was to make. I was clueless. So, when Luis suggested we come to his home for relleno – without first consulting with his wife – I wasn’t sure what I was going to get.
Well, let me tell you, it is delicious!
Luis’ wife Oly prepared the dish. And, it was as delicious as she was delightful. Relleno is eaten only on special occasions because of the time involved. My birthday? December. Luis and Oly’s anniversary? Next month. My sister’s birthday? Next week. So, we decided to celebrate her day.
It’s a unique experience walking along rural Ambergris Caye. There are many Belizean gardeners and property managers outside while I stroll the island. And, they are friendly. Back home in Ohio, people nod and say hello. It’s different in Belize. People stop me and want to talk. They want to show me the flower gardens they tend. They want me to feel welcome.
None of them could be any friendlier than Luis. When he stopped me, I asked one of my favorite questions. What should I eat in Belize? His answer was relleno. (The two l’s have a “y” sound.) I never heard of that dish. So, I had to ask, “Do you prepare it with iguana?” The answer might surprise you. “Guatemalans eat iguana. We don’t eat that in Belize.”
My sister knew all about relleno. Her Belizean friends had prepared it before. She knew all about how time consuming it was to make. I was clueless. So, when Luis suggested we come to his home for relleno – without first consulting with his wife – I wasn’t sure what I was going to get.
Well, let me tell you, it is delicious!
Luis’ wife Oly prepared the dish. And, it was as delicious as she was delightful. Relleno is eaten only on special occasions because of the time involved. My birthday? December. Luis and Oly’s anniversary? Next month. My sister’s birthday? Next week. So, we decided to celebrate her day.
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Relleno
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The key ingredient for relleno is a paste called “black ricado”. (It’s also available in red, in case you are interested, and I think the red is part fire and part hot pepper.) The making of the paste is what requires massive amounts of time. You start with tortillas. Cook them until you blacken them. Then, you must wash the tortillas until you clean away all that black. You have to wash them two or three times. Next, you grind up the tortillas and add all kinds of spices including cumin, pepper, allspice, garlic and onion. After hearing about all that work, I had to ask. If you are a die-hard chef, I’m guessing you have to prepare your ricado this way. But, if you are like me and really don’t cook that much, can you buy it already prepared? They answer was “yes”. So, you know what would happen in my kitchen. Of course, everyone knows it tastes better when everything is fresh. That just doesn’t matter to me enough to go through all that work.
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Ingredients:
.....1 lb. ground beef or chicken ...............5 boiled chicken eggs
.....1 tsp salt ...............3 raw eggs
¼ cup of black ricado ...............1 whole chicken
..2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced ...............1 whole haberno pepper
2 onions, minced
.....1 lb. ground beef or chicken ...............5 boiled chicken eggs
.....1 tsp salt ...............3 raw eggs
¼ cup of black ricado ...............1 whole chicken
..2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced ...............1 whole haberno pepper
2 onions, minced
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Brown the ground beef and add salt, the black ricado, garlic and onions. After it is cooked, stir in the boiled eggs whites and mix thoroughly. Turn off the heat.
Separate the meat in the middle and drop the three eggs in the center. Stir them up into the meat mix.
Stuff your chicken with the meat mix and the whole egg yolks in the same way you stuff a Thanksgiving turkey. Then, sew up the chicken so all those goodies stay inside the bird.
If you made your own black ricado, you should have left-over juices. If like me, you would never make black ricado when you can buy it already prepared, dilute a tablespoon or two of black ricado in pot big enough to boil your stuffed chicken. Add fried garlic and onions to the broth along with one whole habanero pepper. Just one pepper? That’s right. Luis and Oly only like a little fire. And, if you want to add extra veggies like potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers and carrots, feel free to slice away.
Boil for 30 to 45 minutes. Flip the bird after twenty minutes of boiling. Serve the chicken and what was cooked inside the bird with the broth as a soup along with a plate of rice. Now, if you don’t know how you are supposed to eat it, do as I did, and asked Luis. Take a spoonful of rice and dip it in the soup to soak up some flavor. Then, enjoy.
You may think that one cooking lesson with Oly, especially preparing relleno, was way more than any gringo should expect. You'd be correct. But, I was invited back for another lesson just a few days later. This time, I learned how to make tortillas. It's much more simple and way more of a staple in the Belizean diet. It was also delightful to witness (and participate in).
Separate the meat in the middle and drop the three eggs in the center. Stir them up into the meat mix.
Stuff your chicken with the meat mix and the whole egg yolks in the same way you stuff a Thanksgiving turkey. Then, sew up the chicken so all those goodies stay inside the bird.
If you made your own black ricado, you should have left-over juices. If like me, you would never make black ricado when you can buy it already prepared, dilute a tablespoon or two of black ricado in pot big enough to boil your stuffed chicken. Add fried garlic and onions to the broth along with one whole habanero pepper. Just one pepper? That’s right. Luis and Oly only like a little fire. And, if you want to add extra veggies like potatoes, tomatoes, sweet peppers and carrots, feel free to slice away.
Boil for 30 to 45 minutes. Flip the bird after twenty minutes of boiling. Serve the chicken and what was cooked inside the bird with the broth as a soup along with a plate of rice. Now, if you don’t know how you are supposed to eat it, do as I did, and asked Luis. Take a spoonful of rice and dip it in the soup to soak up some flavor. Then, enjoy.
You may think that one cooking lesson with Oly, especially preparing relleno, was way more than any gringo should expect. You'd be correct. But, I was invited back for another lesson just a few days later. This time, I learned how to make tortillas. It's much more simple and way more of a staple in the Belizean diet. It was also delightful to witness (and participate in).
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Tortillas
Ingredients:
...3 cups flour .....................2 ½ Tbs baking powder
..½ cup lard .....................½ Tbs salt
...3 cups flour .....................2 ½ Tbs baking powder
..½ cup lard .....................½ Tbs salt
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Combine the ingredients and add water until the flour reaches the right consistency to knead. What is that consistency? How do you know when you’ve reached it? I have no idea. It’s a feel. And, when you’ve done this enough, you know the right feel for the dough. Next, you knead the dough until it reaches the proper texture. Again, it’s a feel. How long do you knead it? I’d say it was at least ten minutes. I never felt the necessary feel. But, at some point, Oly was satisfiedOly pinched off dough in tiny balls between her thumb and finger. Then, she rolled them a little more. All the flour made about 15 balls of dough when she was done working. Oil up your hands to coat each ball and place them in a covered bowl to rest a while.
Heat up the tortilla plate for a good long time. Oly had a gas oven. They flame licked at that metal plate a good ten minutes before she was ready. Then, she flattened the dough balls on an oiled counter top. With two hands she flattened the balls into perfect circles. Mine were not nearly as perfect.
Lift up the dough tortilla and place on the hot plate until one side is golden. Then, without the use of a spatula, flip that tortilla over until the other side is the same lovely shade of gold. Multi-task as you wait. Continue flattening dough balls until all fifteen tortillas are ready for your meal. When we were done, Oly served me up my tortillas with refried beans along with eggs and sausage.