Lizano Style Sauce

Ingredients:
- onion
- carrot
- tomato
- habanero/jalapeño (depending on how hot you like it)
- cilantro
- lime
- vinegar
- ground coriander
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- brown sugar
- stock cube
- water

I had this sauce over my rice for the first time when I was in Costa Rica. I made sushi before so I know vinegar and rice work very well together.

I did not put any amounts in the ingredients list since it it up to you to experiment and find the right balance you like so there is no 'wrong' just you trying to make it better.

I heat the water, dissolve my stock cube and add the (diced) onion, (diced) carrot, (diced) tomato, habaneros and cilantro. Let it simmer until the carrot is soft enough a baby can bite through it.

Dash 2 spoons of vinegar in the pot. Add 2 tablespoons of salt. Add cumin, ground coriander, chili powder, garlic powder, lime juice and brown sugar for the taste. You have to find the balance for your taste.

Cook it on a low heat for 10 to 20 minutes. I blend it down and if the consistency of the sauce is not thick enough you can add some cold water with thickening agent dissolved in it and put some heat underneath your pot.

According to the person that gave me the recipe it keeps up to two weeks but usually I am out by then because it works really well.

Arepas

Arepas are corncookies on which you put something like blue cheese or pico.

For the arepas you will need:

- 3,5 dl of water

- 2 spoons of brown sugar

- 200 grams of corn flour

- 2 eggs

- 120 grams of blue cheese

For the pico you will need:

- 3 ripe tomatoes

- 1 garlic clove

- 1 spoon of ahorn sirup

- 2 spoons of freshly chopped coriander leaves

- 1 sjalot

- sea salt and black pepper

Heat up the water and add the sugar until completely disolved. Add bit by bit the corn flour so you get a nice smooth thick batter. Mix the eggs and half of the cheese trough it. Let the dough cool down.

Put the oil in the frying pan and heat it. Roll little balls from the dough and roll them out so that it becomes cookie-shaped. You fry them 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

To make the pico you dice up the tomatoes, squeeze the garlic and add the juice of the lemon to it. Mix it up and then add the coriander to it together with the sjalot. Mix it up again and finally add the sirup to it and mix it up again. To finish it you add sea salt and pepper to bring it up to taste.

So finally you crumble your cheese onto the arepas or put some pico onto it.