What to eat Dominican Republic? culinary specialties and gastronomy

When Columbus discovered Hispaniola in 1492, the entire island was inhabited by Taïnos. This fertile land - supposedly rich in gold - attracted the greed of the first settlers. Slavery and imported diseases killed off almost the entire population. The Taino diet was poor in meat, as the island had very few large mammals, and the locals made do with game - small mammals, birds, reptiles - as well as seafood and vegetables: manioc, sweet potatoes, corn and beans. The best-known Taino dishes - still eaten today - are casabe (cassava pancake) and guanime (similar to Mexican tamale, made from steamed corn purée wrapped in corn leaves).

Europeans imported many animals to the West Indies: pigs, chickens, cattle, goats, sheep and horses, as well as plants such as wheat, sugar cane, bananas, rice, citrus fruits and coffee. Spanish influences in Dominican cuisine are notable, although other European settlers coveted the island of Hispaniola, such as the English and especially the French, who founded the colony of Haiti.

When the Spanish had virtually decimated the entire Taino population, they turned to Africa to replenish their plantation workforce. As early as 1501, a slave ship brought the first slaves to the island. One of the best-known Dominican dishes of African origin is mangú, a plantain purée with its origins in West African fufu.

With the abolition of slavery in the ^19th century, the island's large landowners brought in Chinese laborers to work on the farms. This trend accelerated under the American occupation of the island between 1916 and 1924. Dishes such as chofan - the Dominican version of Chinese fried rice with pork and vegetables - became popular. It was also during this period that specialties from Cuba and Puerto Rico became popular.

Farm workers and traders who arrived from the Middle East in the 1900s brought with them numerous recipes based on rice, fruit and pulses, all seasoned with a host of spices. Kipes or quipes are the Dominican version of "kibbeh", bulgur croquettes stuffed with meat (in this case beef, whereas in Lebanon lamb is used).

Thanks to its humid tropical climate, the range of fruits and vegetables is vast: plantain, rice, kidney beans and black beans, as well as avocado, sweet potato, okra, eggplant, bell pepper, giraumon (squash), pumpkin, tomato and more. Not forgetting countless fruits such as pineapple, guava, mango, papaya, various citrus species and, of course, the soursop, a green, bumpy fruit with a very sweet white pulp. Coconuts are sabered to savour their flesh after quenching your thirst with coconut water (agua de coco), unless you prefer jugo de caña de azúcar, extracted directly by pressing the sugar cane.

While beef is still rare, chicken, pork and goat are popular. Fish and seafood are not common fare on the island. The massive development of tourism is revolutionizing these products: swordfish, tuna, red mullet and sea bream, as well as shrimp, lobster and crabs, are all featured on the island's tables. The lambi, out of its large orange shell, is less common, but highly prized, especially by the locals.

Start the meal with a hearty breakfast of tres golpes, a dish of fried eggs, grilled Dominicano salami and queso de freír, a cheese halfway between feta and mozzarella, which is fried and mashed plantain (mangú). Pasteles en hojas are plantain, meat and vegetable pies cooked in a banana leaf. Other tasty snacks include empanada (a puff pastry filled with meat, eggs or vegetables) and tostones (fried plantains), which can be eaten on the go. Asopao is a thick soup of rice, vegetables and meat.

Bandera is the national dish, supposed to represent the country's flag. It consists of rice, meat in sauce (usually chicken) and kidney beans. Chicken is very popular and can be found in stews such as pollo guisado, chicken in a white wine tomato sauce with peppers and olives. A similar recipe, chivo guisado picante, is made with goat's meat and spices. Chenchén, typical of the south of the country, is a dish of goat in sauce accompanied by pieces of corn boiled with spices.

Pork dishes include puerco en puya or puerco asado, a whole grilled pig, and mondongo, Dominican-style tripe. Buche e perico is a stew of corn and smoked bacon, while chicharrones are pieces of pork rind fried until puffed and crunchy like potato chips. And let's not forget the sancocho or prieto, a stew containing up to seven different types of meat (pork ribs, pork belly, chicken thighs, etc.) and assorted vegetables. Finally, the chimichurri burger has nothing to do with the chimichurri sauce found in Argentina. It's a burger with a generously spiced ground steak (oregano, garlic, parsley, chili pepper, etc.) served in a bun with tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cabbage and salsa golf (similar to a cocktail sauce made with mayonnaise and ketchup). Always served with an ice-cold beer.

There are also more complete dishes, such as niños envueltos or stuffed cabbage, or pastelón de plátano maduro, a gratin similar to lasagne, but where the pasta has been replaced by plantain. Moro is a very common rice with kidney beans or other starches. Chulitos are manioc croquettes stuffed with minced meat. Finally, locrio is a Dominican adaptation of paella with a variety of meats (pork chops, salami, chicken, etc.).

While fish is not necessarily as popular as meat - which may seem paradoxical for an island - some tasty recipes are prepared, such as pescado con coco, a fish in coconut milk sauce, a typical Samanà dish, or cangrejo guisado, a crab marinated in herbs and cooked in sauce.

Dominican patisserie features cakes and entremets, such as the classic bizcocho dominicano, a basic cake recipe with vanilla and lime zest, filled with pineapple jam and topped with meringue. It comes in a variety of shapes, and the meringue is sometimes colored.Arepa dominicana is a spongy cornmeal and coconut cake with raisins. The recipe is very different from Venezuelan and Colombian arepas, which are more like pita breads filled with a meat-based savoury filling.

Other desserts includehabichuelas con dulce, a smooth cream made with kidney beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut milk and evaporated milk, decorated with dried fruit. Or jalea de batata, a creamy sweet potato pudding slow-cooked with spices, sugar, milk and coconut milk. You'll sometimes be offeredalmibar de frutas, or fruit cooked in syrup, although the country's excellent fresh fruit doesn't necessarily make you want to eat canned fruit.

Dulce de coco tierno is a kind of coconut compote grated with milk, sugar and cinnamon, while dulce de leche en tabla is the local equivalent of soft caramel. We'd also add canquiñas, or barley sugar, and palitos de coco, grated coconut lollipops cooked with condensed milk. Once cooked, they are rolled into small balls and coated with a syrup made from sugar, corn syrup and red food coloring.

Coffee was introduced to the Dominican Republic in 1715, and the island has been cultivating the plant with great expertise ever since. Arabica accounts for almost all national production. Locals are therefore very fond of coffee, which is often quite full-bodied, although it can also be ordered long (café americano).

As in the rest of the West Indies, rum plays an essential role in Dominican culture, the island having been one of the first sugarcane planting areas in the New World. The market is fiercely contested by four brands: Brugal, Barcelo, Matusalem and Bermudez. The rum comes in a variety of shades: classic, strong-tasting brown, barrel-aged añejo for dry drinking, and light, dry white, ideal for preparing a whole range of exotic cocktails, including the simplest - cuba libre (rum with cola) or santo libre (rum with lemonade, a slice of lime and lots of ice). All rum-based cocktails - rum punch, banana-mama, planteur, mojito, daiquiri, etc. - are sure to please, although the most famous is the piña colada (pineapple juice, coconut milk and rum).

Like rum, beer is an institution. It's best drunk chilled, sometimes iced. The national brands are Quisqueya, Bohemia and Presidente, the latter unquestionably the most popular. It's the most popular brand of beer in the Dominican Republic, so popular that you don't order a Presidente, but rather a fria, or "iced beer". As for wine, there is no local production. However, there are good Chilean, Argentinean, Italian, French and Spanish wines. Those who prefer a non-alcoholic cocktail can sip a morir soñando - meaning "to die dreaming" - a cocktail made with milk, orange juice, vanilla and cane sugar.