Maiz Maiz Maiz

Since we’re in the midst of winter down here(winter= rainy season), it is prime harvest/growing time. August was the big cosecha of corn, and in September they plant again, so it should be ready in December. I love corn season- all kinds of great food products (and none of them involving high fructose corn syrup!). A few of my favorites:


-Atol de Maiz Verde: Fresh corn pudding. My friend Jaquelin invited me to her house to make it. First, you take fresh corn cobs and strip off all the kernels. Then, you put these through the grinder, molino. Most people use electric molinos which are usually in a central location(used to grind corn for tortillas and drinks, cacao for drinks, etc), however Jaquelin has a hand-grinder that we used to grind up all the fresh kernels into a white masa. We drained this of any excess water and then mixed it with milk and cooked it over the wood fire. Lots of sugar is added, and then you just keep stirring until it’s a thick, pudding-like consistency. My friend Amanda made me atol with maiz verde and instead of milk, she boiled an apple-like fruit called jocotes in water for the base. The great thing is that you can have it hot and liquidy or wait a day, and then it slices like a cake.



-Esquite: This is for corn that isn’t as fresh. Strip the kernels off the cob, and then just fry them up with lots of salt. Kind of like the campo version of popcorn.


-Güirila: Fresh corn tortilla. It’s really more like a corn pancake, it’s so sweet. It’s like a tortilla, but thicker and sweeter, so it’s eaten by itself or with cuajada, the crumbly, salty cheese. It’s one of my favorite Nica foods.

Tamales and Nacatamales are also big in winter too. Nica Tamales are similar to Mexican tamales but have a lot more butter and the masa is sweeter. Nacatamales are sooo good. The masa isn’t sweet and it’s filled with tomatoes, rice, potatoes, raisins, cilantro, and more. Rather than being wrapped in a corn husk like tamales, nacatamales are wrapped in banana leaves. I was lucky that this week one of the women in my women’s group regalared or gifted me one she made.