Ursula Adduci shares a favorite Costa Rican cooking tradition
Achildhood spent in her grandmother’s kitchen gave Chicago chef Ursula Adduci a sense of security. Her earliest memory was looking up at Grandmother Lucia, wrapped in her apron, stirring pots of sauces or sautéing something wonderful. To Ursula, a kitchen grew to mean love. The good food that came from that kitchen meant joy, family, creativity, adventure and delicious taste.
It’s no surprise Grandmother Lucia’s steaming hot dishes, perfectly spiced Costa Rican recipes and balanced diet led Ursula to appreciate food so much she became a restaurateur and caterer.
Costa Rican cooking traditions
Sazon Chicago is Ursula’s catering company and it allows her to do what she loves: feed people. In Spanish, Sazon means seasoning, flavor, all the elements that make something delicious. Ursula’s favorite catering experiences involve families, seeing fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents get together.
Its no surprise that Ursula and her husband, Ernesto, believe it’s important to teach children to appreciate eating, preparing and enjoying food from an early age. She suggests taking them to the market with you. Teach them how to smell the fruit, the herbs; let them experience how to pick the freshest vegetables and cuts of meat; let them imagine what goes together and how to create dishes.
She also gave me tips on what she keeps in her kitchen, a Costa Rican kitchen: important spices including oregano and cilantro, basic vegetables including tomatoes, cabbage and lettuce. Plus the all important rice, beans and … cassava.
What’s cassava? It’s a starchy root vegetable grown throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. You can find it here in Chicago in the produce section, or it also comes pre- packaged and frozen. Cassava is as flexible as potatoes, meaning it can be fried, baked, roasted, mashed, puréed, even put in soups or breads, with its own delicious flavor.
In today’s Food We Love video, Ursula makes a one- dish dinner with cassava, shrimp and assorted vegetables that is as beautiful to look at as it is yummy to eat. To learn how to make it yourself and hear her warning about what part of the cassava you CAN’T eat, go to suntimes. com.
Enjoy!