Sazón Criolla · The Colombian Table

Colombian Cooking Without Vegetable Oil

From the misty coffee hills of the Andes to the palm lined Caribbean coast, Colombian kitchens have always cooked with lard rendered slowly, butter melted golden, and the patience of a low flame. This is a table built on real fat and real time, a sancocho simmering for hours, arepas crackling on a hot griddle, and never a trace of vegetable oil in sight.

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Manteca✶ Mantequilla✶ Aceite de Coco
A warmly plated Colombian dish on a rustic wooden table
✶ Sancocho de Gallina
From the recipe collection
Manteca

Lard and Butter First

Every stew, bean pot, and griddled arepa in this collection begins with real fat rendered from lard, butter, or ghee, the way Colombian kitchens have cooked for generations, never a refined seed oil.

Despacio

Low Flame, Long Table

A sancocho is judged by the hour, not the minute. We let beans, broths, and braises take their time over a gentle flame, the same patient rhythm kept in kitchens from the coffee country to the coast.

Jamás

Never Vegetable Oil

No seed oils, no shortcuts. Only the traditional fats trusted by Colombian home cooks long before industrial oil ever reached the pantry.

✶
From Our Kitchen

Colombian Recipes

Six dishes gathered from the highlands, the coffee country, and the coast, each one cooked the traditional way, with real fat and unhurried time.

Domingo Sancocho, a hearty chicken and root vegetable stew in a deep pot

Sancocho de Gallina

Chicken and root vegetable stew

1 hr 45 min·6 servings·Medium

The Sunday stew that gathers the whole family. Chicken simmered slowly in lard with corn, yuca, and plantain until the broth turns rich and golden, no vegetable oil anywhere near the pot.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
  • 3 tbsp lard
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 scallions, chopped, whites and greens separated
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 ears fresh corn, cut into thick rounds
  • 600 g yuca (cassava), peeled and cut into chunks
  • 2 green plantains, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 3 small yellow potatoes, halved, plus a bunch of cilantro and salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Melt the lard in a heavy pot over medium heat and brown the chicken pieces on all sides, then set aside.
  2. In the same fat, soften the onion, garlic, and scallion whites for 5 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes and cook until they collapse into a sauce.
  3. Return the chicken to the pot, cover with water, and bring to a gentle simmer, skimming any foam that rises.
  4. Add the corn and yuca and simmer 25 minutes, then add the plantains and potatoes and continue cooking 20 minutes more until every root is tender.
  5. Season with salt and cumin, tucking in most of the cilantro for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
  6. Ladle into deep bowls with chicken, corn, plantain, and yuca in each one, and finish with the scallion greens and remaining cilantro.
Bandeja Grilled marinated beef with a deep char, bandeja paisa style

Carne Asada Paisa

Grilled marinated beef, bandeja paisa style

40 min·4 servings·Easy

The centerpiece of a proper bandeja paisa platter. Thin beef steaks marinated in garlic, lime, and cumin, then seared in hot lard on a griddle until charred at the edges and juicy within.

Ingredients

  • 4 thin beef steaks (top round or flank), about 180 g each
  • 5 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 scallions, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp lard, melted, divided
  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tbsp grated panela or brown sugar (optional, for a light char)
  • Lime wedges and chopped cilantro, to serve

Instructions

  1. Pound the steaks lightly to an even thickness and place them in a shallow dish.
  2. Whisk together the garlic, lime juice, cumin, oregano, scallions, half the lard, panela, salt, and pepper, then pour over the beef.
  3. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, turning once.
  4. Heat a cast iron griddle or heavy skillet until very hot and brush with the remaining lard.
  5. Lift the steaks from the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and sear 2 to 3 minutes per side for a deep char with a pink center.
  6. Rest the steaks 5 minutes on a warm plate.
  7. Slice against the grain and serve with lime wedges and cilantro, as part of a bandeja paisa spread.
Fogón Golden arepas cooking on a hot griddle

Arepas de Maíz

Buttered corn griddle cakes

35 min·8 arepas·Easy

The daily bread of Colombia. Griddled cakes of precooked white cornmeal, enriched with butter, crisped in hot lard, and finished with another pat of butter while still warm.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (about 250 g) precooked white cornmeal (masarepa)
  • 2 to 2 1/4 cups warm water
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 3 tbsp butter, softened, divided
  • 1/2 cup shredded queso fresco, cut small (optional)
  • 1 tbsp lard, for greasing the griddle
  • A little extra warm water, if the dough feels dry
  • Extra butter, for brushing warm arepas
  • A soft cheese, to serve alongside
  • A pinch of sugar (optional, for a lightly sweet dough)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, stir the cornmeal and salt into the warm water and let it rest 5 minutes to hydrate.
  2. Work in 2 tablespoons of the butter and the cheese, if using, kneading gently until the dough is smooth and holds together without cracking at the edges.
  3. Divide into 8 balls and flatten each between your palms into a disc about 1 cm thick.
  4. Melt the lard on a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat.
  5. Cook the arepas 6 to 7 minutes per side, pressing gently, until a golden crust forms and they sound hollow when tapped.
  6. Brush the hot arepas with the remaining butter as they come off the griddle.
  7. Split slightly and serve warm, with extra butter and a soft cheese alongside.
Bogotá Ajiaco, a creamy chicken and potato soup in a rustic bowl

Ajiaco Santafereño

Bogotá's three potato chicken soup

1 hr 30 min·6 servings·Medium

The classic soup of the Bogotá highlands. Three kinds of potato simmered with chicken and the herb guascas until the broth turns creamy on its own starch, finished with cream and avocado.

Ingredients

  • 1.2 kg bone-in chicken breast or thighs
  • 2 ears corn, cut into rounds
  • 1 kg mixed potatoes, pink creole, russet, and a floury variety
  • 1 white onion, quartered
  • 4 scallions, left whole
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp dried guascas
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • To serve, heavy cream, capers, and sliced avocado

Instructions

  1. Place the chicken, corn, onion, scallions, and garlic in a large pot, cover with water, and simmer 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
  2. Lift out the chicken, corn, and aromatics, then shred the chicken and set it aside with the corn.
  3. Strain the broth back into the pot, melt in the butter, and add the potatoes, keeping some of the floury variety separate to mash in later.
  4. Simmer 30 minutes, then mash a few of the softest potato pieces against the side of the pot to naturally thicken the broth.
  5. Stir in the guascas and simmer 10 minutes more, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  6. Return the shredded chicken and corn to the pot to warm through.
  7. Ladle into bowls and serve with a spoonful of cream, capers, and avocado at the table.
Paisa A pot of thick red beans slow cooked with lard

Frijoles Antioqueños

Red beans slow cooked in lard

2 hr·6 servings·Easy

The daily companion to rice and arepas across Antioquia. Red beans simmered low and slow with lard, plantain, and a touch of panela until the broth turns thick and deeply savory.

Ingredients

  • 500 g dried red kidney or cargamanto beans, soaked overnight
  • 3 tbsp lard
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 ripe tomato, chopped
  • 1 small piece ripe plantain, diced
  • 1 tbsp grated panela or brown sugar
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and ground cumin, to taste
  • Chopped scallions and cilantro, to finish

Instructions

  1. Drain the soaked beans, cover with fresh water in a heavy pot, add the bay leaf, and simmer gently about 1 hour until nearly tender.
  2. Meanwhile, melt the lard in a skillet and cook the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant.
  3. Stir in the tomato and cook until it breaks down into a thick base.
  4. Add this base to the beans along with the plantain and panela, and continue simmering 40 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Mash a spoonful of beans against the pot to thicken the broth, then season with salt and cumin.
  6. Simmer uncovered a final 10 minutes until glossy and thick.
  7. Finish with scallions and cilantro, and serve hot alongside rice and arepas.
Diciembre Golden fried buñuelos stacked and cooling on a rack

Buñuelos

Fried cheese and cornstarch fritters

1 hr·About 16·Medium

The festive treat of the Colombian table at Christmas, and any Sunday worth celebrating. Golden fritters of cornstarch and fresh cheese, deep fried in lard until they puff and crackle.

Ingredients

  • 250 g queso fresco or a similarly salty fresh cheese, grated or crumbled
  • 200 g cornstarch (or a mix of cornstarch and masarepa)
  • 1 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • A pinch of salt
  • Lard or coconut oil, for deep frying
  • Extra sugar, for dusting (optional)
  • Arequipe (dulce de leche), for serving (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, work the cheese with your hands until it releases some of its moisture and turns slightly pasty.
  2. Add the cornstarch, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, then mix in the eggs until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough.
  3. Rest the dough 10 minutes, then roll into balls a little smaller than a golf ball.
  4. Melt enough lard or coconut oil to submerge the buñuelos in a deep, heavy pot and heat to a gentle simmer, testing with a small piece of dough that should bubble steadily but not violently.
  5. Fry the buñuelos in small batches, turning them often, for 8 to 10 minutes, until deeply golden and cracked on the surface and cooked through in the center.
  6. Lift onto a rack to drain and cool slightly, since the centers stay hot.
  7. Dust with sugar if you like and serve warm, with a bowl of arequipe for dipping.
A rustic table set with warm home cooked dishes
Our Kitchen

The Kitchen Behind Renirs

Renirs is a small home kitchen devoted to the cooking of Colombia, a country of coffee covered hillsides, wide rivers, and a coastline that never runs short of fruit. Sunday here means a pot of sancocho on the back burner, a stack of arepas keeping warm under a cloth, and a table that fills up slowly with family. We write these recipes down the way they are still cooked in home kitchens across the Andes and the coast, patiently, precisely, and with a generous hand on the fat.

Our only house rule is an old one: butter from the dairy, manteca rendered slowly, ghee clarified over a low flame, coconut oil where the coast calls for it, and nothing else. Vegetable oil never comes through our door, because it never sat on the stoves we learned from.

Buen provecho, and may your table be full.