Rice and beans; beans and rice -it was all that people were telling me when I announced plans to travel to Costa Rica.
“As a vegetarian?” They would ask incredulously. “All you’ll eat is rice and beans.”
“It’ll be rice and beans three times a day, beans and rice If you’re lucky!”
Unswayed, I went ahead with my plans secretly determined to prove these preconceptions wrong - despite my actual love of both culinary staples.

The first encounter I had with this Nation's food was from a roadside service station: 1½ hours into the journey from San Jose to the farming town of San Isidro de El General our bus pulled off the steep and narrow winding InterAmericana outside a Pulperia where all its passengers tumbled out on the scrounge for food. I -being new to the Spanish language- was finding it quite challenging to decipher what contained meat and what did not… Time was ticking, passengers were filing back up the busses steps… Panicking I plunged for an odd looking eggy bread - if a dry omelette could be molded into an old roll than that is exactly what I had bought. Needless to say, the Costa Rican food was not impressing me thus far! However, 3 weeks on and my opinion has changed dramatically!

Yes, we do eat A LOT of rice -there are always steaming hot grains bursting out of the rice cooker sitting pride of place on the kitchen worktop- and almost as many beans (little black ones that explode in your mouth like natural baked beans)! These two staples make up the basis of almost every meal- even breakfast! But there is so much more, and for a vegetarian it is paradise.

Crazy vegetables (such as the mushy green chayote which bursts in your mouth like a seedless courgette and the green papaya which, when finely diced and sauteed with a little red pepper, creates a heavenly warm salad) abound every meal. Be it in a soup, fried with rice or as a dish in their own right these fresh vegetables bring the Costa Rican plate to life. Through in some Heart of Palm (the crisp, edible core of a palm tree) and you are nearly there … but don’t forget the eggs! Fried or scrambled these versatile ingredients are just as commonly seen as the ubiquitous rice and beans. Fresh garden herbs (such as the aromatic purple basil, thyme and coriander) all enhance whatever culinary creation is on the stove and meat is a rarity. Eaten with the hands it usually comes in the form of chicken; countless roadside takeaways line the buzzing streets selling it fried and breaded ready for a quick bite on the hoof.

Traditionally, Costa Rican’s feast on their stomach-warming national of dish of “Gallo Pinto” for breakfast. This multi-flavoured favourite consists of the previous night’s rice and beans fried and then served with cheese, eggs or sour cream. It is eaten (as with most dishes here) solely with a spoon - what the spoon can’t handle is left up to the fingers! However, at Finca Chinchilla the international influence from volunteers has resulted in everything from French Toast to banana pancakes with maple syrup being served on offer beside the traditional Tico fare.

Desserts are not so prominent, however Arroz con Leche (rice pudding) can be found almost anywhere: thick, sweet and creamy it glides down beautifully after a hearty meal. Fresh fruit tends to be the preferred option however -and right enough too! The amount of exotic variety that can be found growing in this tiny country is incredible: gigantic watermelons blended into a tantalising frothy drink, papayas tasting not unlike maple syrup, bananas -sweet and silky, limes squeezed into a fresh salad to give that burst of zingy flavour… the list goes on… mora berries (little black fruits similar to the loganberry) hang down off tree branches temping the passer by, and my absolute favourite: Plantains! Enormous bananas that when sliced and deep fried become little pieces of molten caramel… these divine creations of the natural world are regularly on the Costa Rican table but not for long. A million hands soon dive in fighting to get the sweetest, gooiest plantain around!

The variety of textures and flavours found on the Costa Rican table are enough alone to send the taste-buds dancing off for seconds, but throw in some laughter and it is not surprising how easy it is to fall head over plate -as I have done- in love with this country's cuisine!