Olla de Carne
A Costa Rican beef and root vegetable stew tracing to a fusion of the Spanish olla podrida mixed-meat-and-vegetable tradition with local tropical roots after colonization, grown into a rural farming-household staple. Real olla de carne cuts its vegetables into large, rustic chunks rather than diced, drawing on a wide variety of Costa Rican produce — yuca, ñampí, camote, chayote, corn, plantain, potato — seasoned with culantro coyote, distinct from cilantro. It's genuinely a Sunday family-meal tradition, traditionally served as broth first, then meat and vegetables as a second course, with rice, tortillas, and Lizano sauce on the side.
Meat
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef shank or short rib, bone-in
- 1 yuca, chunked
- 1 ñampí (or taro), chunked
- 1 camote (sweet potato), chunked
- 1 chayote, chunked
- 2 potatoes, chunked
- 2 carrots, chunked
- 1 corn cob, chunked
- 1 plantain, chunked
- 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Culantro coyote (or cilantro)
- Salt
Steps
- Simmer the bone-in beef in water for 1.5-2 hours, skimming regularly.
- Add the harder root vegetables (yuca, ñampí) first.
- Stagger in the potato, chayote, corn, and plantain according to their cook times.
- Season with culantro and salt near the end.
- Serve the broth first, then the meat and vegetables with rice and Lizano sauce.