Casado
Costa Rica's everyday composed lunch plate, emerging in the early 20th century as a working-class field and factory meal. Its name has several credible, competing explanations that all appear across reputable sources: a nod to wives packing balanced lunches for their husbands ('casado' means 'married man'), the way the dish 'marries' several foods on one plate, or diners simply asking to be served 'like a married man eats at home.' There's no single correct protein — that flexibility is itself part of the tradition, and the dish is sold cheaply and constantly at family-run diners called sodas.
Meat-optional
Ingredients
- 2 cups white rice, cooked
- 2 cups black beans, cooked
- 1/2 cabbage, shredded
- 1 tomato, diced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 ripe plantains, sliced
- 4 chicken breasts or thighs (or beef, fish, or pork)
- Cilantro, oil, salt and pepper
Steps
- Cook the rice and warm the black beans.
- Toss the shredded cabbage with the diced tomato, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper for a simple slaw.
- Pan-fry the ripe plantain slices until caramelized.
- Grill or pan-fry the chosen protein and season simply.
- Plate the rice, beans, slaw, plantain, and protein together.