FOOD GLOSSARY

Alcapurrias Cigar-shaped fitters made from a masa, or batter, of green bananas, green plantain and yautia, a starchy tuber. Crab and lobster are classic stuffings before it hits the deep fryer

Arroz con gandules Puerto Rico’s national dish combines red peppers, green olives and gandules, the beans also known as pigeon peas, seasoned with sazón spice blend and combined with rice before being tossed in the island’s most emblematic sauce, sofrito (see below). Look out too for arroz con pollo, a chicken variation, which involves a similar layering of slow-cooked ingredients to extract maximum flavour Bacalaitos Another fried delicacy – this one is a fritter of flour and milk, spiced with sofrito and cumin, and coating a filling of shredded salt cod. Made to be dipped in hot sauce and washed down with cold beer, often alongside alcapurrias

Lechon asado Spit-roast suckling pig, liberally seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and aijes dulces (small, sweet, cooking peppers) and cooked over a charcoal fire so the skin crisps up like bonfire toffee Mofongo A dome of mashed fried plantains, garlic and olive oil, usually served as a side dish to pork or chicken, and sometimes paired with chicharrones (fried pork skin): the soft base of the mofongo is a great contrast to the crunch of the meat

Morcilla More similar to the soft Spanish blood sausage than

British black pudding, with oats swapped out for rice

Pan de Mallorca Brought over to Puerto Rico by immigrant bakers from the Balearics, this sweet bread is made with flour, sugar, egg yolks and butter and dusted with powdered sugar. Try it stuffed with ham for a sweet-and-savoury accompaniment to a breakfast cup of

Puerto Rican coffee

Pastelillos A bit like pasties or empanadas that can be filled with pretty much anything, although prawns and octopus are favourite options Plantain Introduced to the Caribbean by the Spanish to feed African slaves, this fruit, treated like a vegetable, can be harvested straight from the ground after a storm. Ripe plantain is cut into chunks and fried as the sweet side dish of amarillo or cut into thin layers and baked with beef mince, almost like a lasagne. Sliced green plantain is fried, flattened and fried again, then stuffed with pork, prawn or chicken

Quesito Flaky pastry stuffed with cheese or, for something sweet, guava, dulce de leche or salted caramel, then deep-fried so it’s both crunchy and gooey

Sofrito The base for most Puerto Rican stews and soups, this is a blend of culantro (Puerto Rican coriander, slightly different from cilantro), onion, garlic, oregano, parsley, achiote paste and sazón