Latin Christmas Dishes From 12 Countries, Any Look Familiar?

Place setting for Christmas

Latino Christmas dishes and traditions are as diverse as their origins. Some similarities and many differences.

Work, Life & Culture is a blend of tradition and success. Being Latin, Hispanic or Latino means a diverse set customs, food dishes, dialects and holidays. As an example, let’s look at one holiday, Christmas yielding a wide range of traditional foods or dishing.

Here are 12 geographies- 12 days of Christmas:  

Argentina

  • Vitel tonĂ©
  • TurrĂłn
  • Pan dulce
  • Asado (beef, chicken, calf, lamb, suckling pig)
  • Cider (apple, pineapple) and Venezuela
  • Hallaca – rectangle-shaped meal made of maize, filled with beef, pork, olives, raisins and caper, and wrapped in plantain leaves
  • Pan de jamĂłn – ham-filled bread with olives and raisins
  • Dulce de lechosa – dessert made of cooked sliced unripe papaya in sugar syrup
  • Ensalada de gallina – salad made of potato, carrot, apple and shredded chicken
  • Pernil- roast pork shoulder
  • BudĂ­n
  • Salads
  • Pionono
  • Russian salad
  • Matambre
  • Lengua a la vinagreta
  • Garrapiñadas
  • Waldorf salad

Brazil

  • Lombo Ă  CalifĂłrnia – pork loins
  • Rabanada – French toast
  • Pernil – roast pork
  • PerĂş – roast turkey
  • Bacalhau – codfish
  • Farofa – raw manioc flour roasted with butter, salt, bacon or smoked meat, and spices, with a smoky and slightly salty taste
  • Brazil nut
  • Panettone

Chile

  • Pan de pascua
  • Cola de mono – (Literally, “Monkey’s Tail) A Chilean Christmas beverage, with aguardiente, milk, coffee, and flavoured with vanilla and cloves[16]
  • Pan de Pascua – Chilean Christmas sponge cake flavoured with cloves and with bits of candied fruits, raisins, walnuts and almonds.[17]
  • Roasted turkey
  • Ponche a la romana – Eggnog-style beverage made of champagne and pineapple-flavoured icecream.

Colombia

  • Colombian Buñuelos
  • Colombian natilla
  • Colombian Christmas dishes are mostly sweets and desserts. Some of the most popular dishes include:
  • Buñuelos
  • Natilla
  • Manjar blanco
  • Hojaldres
  • Brevas dessert with cheese
  • Christmas cookies
  • Sweet bread filled with fruits like raisins and raspberries.

Cuba

  • Crema De Vie – Cuban eggnog, made with condensed milk, rum, sugar syrup, lemon rind, cinnamon, and egg yolk.
  • Majarete – corn pudding made with coconut milk, fresh corn, cornstarch, milk, water, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar
  • Platillo Moros y Cristianos
  • Lechon asado
  • TurrĂłn

Dominican Republic

  • Moro de guandules con coco – rice with pigeon peas and coconut milk
  • Vaniljekranse – Danish butter cookies
  • ponche – eggnog
  • Ensalada verde – Iceberg letters, onions, cucumber and tomatoes salad.
  • Bread pudding
  • Majarete – corn pudding made with coconut milk, fresh corn, cornstarch, milk, water, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar
  • Russian potato salad
  • Macaroni salad
  • Pasteles de hojas – Root tamales
  • Jengibre – ginger tea
  • Pig roast
  • Pollo al Horno – Roasted Chicken
  • Telera – Dominican bread similar to Mexican Telera
  • Fruit platter – Consists of oranges, apples, bananas, grapes, and mangos
  • Cheese and guava platter – a platter with squared white cheese, yellow potato cheese, soda crackers, and guava paste chunks

Guatemala

  • Tamales
  • Ponche (Christmas fruit punch served hot with lots of fruits)
  • pavo (Turkey)
  • Buñuelos (Fluffy sweet dessert made with corn with maple syrup)
  • Chicken (Prepared with different stuffings and accompanied with various side dishes such as salads or rice)
  • Next page Mexico-Panama-Puerto Rico-Spain and Venezuela

Mexico

  • Christmas roast
  • pavo – Stuffed, roasted Turkey served with gravy.
  • Ensalada de Noche Buena – Christmas Eve Salad
  • Russian potato salad – Side dish to turkey, particularly popular in northern states.
  • Bacalao – clipfish or cod, traditionally eaten in the central and southern states of Mexico.
  • Romeritos – also a Christmas tradition of the central region, romeritos are small green leaves of a particular type mixed generally with mole and potatoes; generally accompanied with “tortitas de camarĂłn” (shrimp bread)
  • Tamales – Tamales can sometimes replace the traditional Turkey or Bacalao with romeritos, particularly in northern and southern parts of Mexico.
  • Menudo – A Christmas morning tradition in northwestern states, menudo is a tripe and hominy soup, not to be confused with southern ‘panzita’. Menudo is often prepared the night before (Christmas Eve) as its cooking time can take up to 5 hours.
  • Ponche – a hot, sweet drink made with apples, sugar cane, prunes and tejocotes. For grown-ups, ponche is never complete without its “piquete” – either tequila or rum
  • Marshmallow fruit salad – marshmallow with fruit cocktail, sugar and sour cream. Sometimes dried coconut, ground cinnamon and/or nuts are also added.
  • Pineapple Upside-down cake – Turned-over cake with cherries and pineapples.
  • Glazed ham – Ham glazed with honey or sugar with cherries and pineapples on top.

Panama

  • Arroz con Pollo
  • Tamales
  • Ham
  • Turkey
  • Grapes
  • Fruit cake
  • Egg nog
  • Potato salad
  • Pan de Rosca

Puerto Rico

  • Arroz con gandules – yellow-rice and pigeon peas with olives, capers, and pieces of ham.
  • Ensalada de pulpo – octopus salad
  • Escabeche – boiled green bananas and chicken gizzards in Puerto Rican style escabeche.
  • Macaroni salad – with tuna and peppers
  • Morcilla
  • Pasteles
  • Pasteles de guineo
  • Pasteles de yucca
  • PastelĂłn – sweet plantain “lasagna” smiler to pionono.
  • Pig roast
  • Potato salad – made with chorizo and hard-boiled eggs.

Spain

  • JamĂłn (Spanish Dry-Cured Ham)
  • Roasted turkey
  • Roasted lamb
  • Seafood
  • Langostinos – (king prawn)
  • Shrimp
  • Lobster
  • Crab
  • Dorado
  • Sweets
  • TurrĂłn
  • Yema – egg-based dessert
  • Mantecados & polvorones – crumbly cakes
  • Marzipan, almond cakes
  • King cake known as roscĂłn de Reyes in Spanish and tortell in Catalan.

Venezuela

  • Hallaca
  • Hallaca – rectangle-shaped meal made of maize, filled with beef, pork, olives, raisins and caper, and wrapped in plantain leaves
  • Pan de jamĂłn – ham-filled bread with olives and raisins
  • Dulce de lechosa – dessert made of cooked sliced unripe papaya in sugar syrup
  • Ensalada de gallina – salad made of potato, carrot, apple and shredded chicken
  • Pernil- roast pork shoulder

See more Latin, Hispanic and Latino Christmas dishes around the world at Wikipedia

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 Venezuelan Holiday Memories…Food, Music, and Family 

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