A Cooking Lesson in San Pedro Sula, Honduras

I have been wanting someone to teach me one of their specialties for some time now.  I had a vision if me in a kitchen outside of the US with ingredients that may not be familiar to me learning from someone in a language that was foreign to me.

Well, that day came.  As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Zoila, the woman that takes care of us at the apartment came along to the Guamilito (market) to help us navigate through the stalls.  We came away with fresh produce, a straw hat and a set of maracas.  More on that later.

The reason for this outing was to get a feel for the local culture and to experience the market, we also needed a few ingredients for our Papusa lesson.

I recognized most of the ingredients we came across, but Zoila said we would need Fine Colandro and Ancho Colandro.  We finally figured out that Colandro was cilantro, but the Ancho part was throwing me.  I know Ancho Chiles, but Ancho Colandro?

Once again, I slipped into the “translating word for word” syndrome.  Turns out Ancho means “wide.”  I was thinking about Ancho Chiles and how long they are, but just never made the connection, especially since I think of Ancho Chiles as being red.  What do I know?  I’m a novice gringa!

Mystery solved, we went on the hunt for fine and wide cilantro.  It took a few stalls, but Zoila spotted both and Bender and I were both very surprised at how the Ancho Colandro had the same aroma as the “fine” cilantro we are used to from North America.  I’ve gotta say, this is a GREAT discovery!  I wonder why we don’t have this in the US?  I’ll have to do some research and get back to you.

When we got home, Zoila got right to the business of teaching us how to make Papusa de Chicharrón (or something like that).  I’ve fully disclosed that I don’t know how to form acceptable sentence structure in Spanish.  I’m happy to get a few words out here and there.

Before I knew it, Masa Harina (corn flour) was in a bowl with water and the Chicharrón was being smashed with a mallet in a plastic bag, to contain flying pieces of pig skin, corn flour was being beaten into submission and vegetables and herbs were being chopped for the filling and as a condiment.

It all happened in a flash, but none of it was difficult or complicated.  Now that I know how to make a Honduran Papusa, I’ll be developing my own with Weight Watchers points and calories for those that are interested.

In the meantime — Bueno Provecho! (Bon Appetit)  — wow, aren’t I the international Bon Vivant with all these exotic foods and languages in one blog post?