The CONCACAF Cookbook: Carimanola (Panama)

In the lead up to this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup we here at Prost Amerika will be presenting our team previews with something new: food! You can check out all of recipes in the Gold Cup section. And of course please let us know how your meals turn out by using the Comments section below!

Meat pies and soccer. They go together like tifos and supporters or strikers and elaborate goal-scoring celebrations. We are not sure why the meat pie became the official unofficial meal of football matches everywhere but for some reason it just seems to work (the ability to carry it by hand and not need utensils also helps).

For this edition of the CONCACAF Cookbook we will be taking a look at another meat pie the carimanola. Although its origins are unknown it is believed that the carmanola received its name from another caramanola, which is derived from the French term carmagnole or short jacket. We are not sure if that means one needs to also read Les Miserables, smoke unfiltered cigarettes, and drink coffee out of very tiny cups but we are going to go with no. However, given that the yucca crust of the carimanola does kind of create a jacket around the filling it sounds plausible enough.

Now the one other interesting part that we just touched base with is the yucca. As opposed to many other meat pies the carimanola uses yucca to sweeten up the crust. It also provides a very different texture and taste and something that is very much authentic to Central and Latin America.

So let’s get to cooking!

Ingredients 

(credit: KeyIngredient.com)

3 pounds yucca root, peeled and cubed

2 1/3 tablespoons of salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

5 large eggs

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup onions, finely chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

8 ounces ground beef

4 teaspoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon black ground pepper

1 cup dry bread crumbs

Directions

1.) Pre-heat your saucepan to a low to medium setting. Place your cubed and peeled yucca into the pan, along with with 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt. You will need to fill the pan with water but just enough that it covers it. Put a lid on the pan and let it sit until the water is brought to a boil.

2.) Once the water is at boiling point drain the water using a colander. Put the potatoes in another large mixing bowl.Don’t pick them up with your hands as they will be extremely hot. Add your butter to the bowl then using a potato masher mash your yucca. Add two of your eggs and mix them into your bowl until all ingredients have become homogenized. Then add another 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt and 1/3 of your flour. Continue mixing until the dough is slightly stiff. Set it aside until it has cooled.

3.) Snag a large skillet and coat it with vegetable oil and set it to a low to medium setting. Add your onions and peppers and cook until they are soft. A quick note about the peppers: make sure that all of the seeds have been removed before cooking. Also, if you have a cut on your hands make sure to wear gloves. Even the mildest of jalapeno peppers can burn so you have to be extra careful.

4.) Once your veggies are nice and soft add the cumin, thyme, garlic, and chili powder and stir for about two minutes. Add your ground beef and cook until it is no longer pink. While your meat is cooking wash out your colander as you will be re-using it in a second.

5.) Drain your skillet and then place the items back in the skillet. Then add your tomato paste, sugar, vinegar, pepper, and the remainder of your salt. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once it is thick move it off the burner to cool.

6.) Pre-heat your oven to about 330-340 degrees. Also, grab a drink as it this point you are probably properly thirsty. You will also need to season a medium-sized sheet. Vegetable oil or cooking spray will suffice.

7.) Roll your yucca dough into balls about 1/4 cup each. Then using a finger to create a small hole, about a quarter inch deep. Add your filling to each pastry and then once they are filled use your fingers to close them. Set them aside until the oven is ready.

8.) Pull out three bowls. In the first bowl place break your three remaining eggs and beat them using three tablespoons of water. Bowl number two will have your remaining cup of flour while bowl number three is for your bread crumbs. Then dip your carimanolas into each bowl one at a time coating both sides. Place them on to your sheet in the oven to cook until they are golden brown.

Drink to go with your carimanolas? Chichita Panama

The Chichita Panama is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in Panama. It includes Seco,, which is a liquor distilled from the sugar cane. While there are many different varieties of Seco that you can have the Chichita Panama includes grapefruit juice and pineapple juice which should go quite well with the sweetness of the carimanolas.

 

Will Panamanians be eating carimanolas at the 2017 Gold Cup final?

This is a very important summer from the Panama national team. Coach Dario Gomez has his side right in the thick of the final round of World Cup Qualification. Panama (1-4-1, 7 points) is just one point shy of the United States (2-2-2, 8 points) for the final automatic qualification spot in CONCACAF and a two point advantage over Honduras (1-2-3, 5 points) for the intercontinental playoff spot.

Understanding that the next few World Cup Qualification matches may be the biggest in Panamanian football history, Gomez has opted to use this tournament as a chance to rest some of his top players including Roman Torres, Felipe Balloy, and Blas Perez. Instead he has gone with a much younger side giving players who are seasoned the chance to fill more senior roles and get younger players more experience for the next cycle. It is a brilliant idea and shows just how far Panama has come in recent years. Players like defender Fidel Escobar of Sporting B and forward Ismael Diaz of Porto B will be given ample chances to show what they can do in the Group Stages against the United States, Martinique, and Nicaragua which will hopefully mean more opportunities with both club and country.

Despite the youth movement that doesn’t mean that Panama isn’t taking this tournament seriously. Their midfield combination of Anibal Godoy (San Jose Earthquakes), Miguel Camargo (NYCFC), and Armando Cooper (Toronto FC) will give opponents fits due to their speed and ability to build chances off of the counter-attack. The big question will be though if Gabriel Torres can actually finish those chances. The former Colorado Rapids Designated Player has had a good run of form with Zamora of Venezuela (22 goals in 23 matches) and now Lausane Sport (eight goals in 30 matches) in Switzerland but has yet to deliver the goods for the national team. With an exciting group of young attacking players behind him this might be his last chance to earn a potential spot for Russia 2018.

Prediction: Panama will fight a close battle with the United States in the first day of Group B action, then pull off two convincing wins over Martinique and Nicaragua. In the knockout stage a seasoned Costa Rica will be too much for the young Panama side, narrowly losing in Philadelphia. But there will be plenty of celebrations with carimanolas in the streets in the city of Brotherly Love as the supporters will know that their side will have bigger matches ahead this year.