Hispanic Heritage · Colombia

Los Santanderes

Bucaramanga · Floridablanca · Girón · Piedecuesta · San Gil · Barichara

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Mute santandereano

Descubre

Mute santandereano introduces a substantial soup of corn, meats, beans, and vegetables. This Santanderes kitchen is a study in building a meal from ingredients that need different amounts of time in the pot.

La Gente

Prepare the components in the order given, allowing the longer-cooking cuts and grains a head start. The final bowl should offer several textures within one seasoned broth. Fresh cilantro supplies a welcome green finish.

Sabor

The Santanderes cook heavy and plain-spoken. Corn, goat, beef, and beans, seasoned with cumin, garlic, green onion, color, and cilantro, with the smoke of the fogón underneath. No sweetness in the savory food; all of the region's sweetness went into the bocadillo.

Spice DNA · Smoke medium · Herb medium · Sweet none · Heat low · Acid low

Seasonings to explore

• Cumin, ground. In the mute and on the goat.
• Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In everything. Adds a savory garlic base.
• Sazón with Coriander and Annatto. The closest jar to Colombian color, for the orange in the broth.
• Black Pepper, ground. In the pot.
• Onion Powder. With the fresh green onion.
• Bay leaves, whole. One or two in the mute.
• Oregano, whole. On the cabrito, if you go that far.

Badia does not sell the hominy. It does not sell the ants either, and it has no plans to.

Cocina

Mute santandereano

The Saturday pot of Santander. Hominy, two meats, beans, and vegetables cooked slow until it is thick enough to be a meal. Start early.

Serves 8

• 2 cups dried hominy (mote), soaked overnight, or two 25 oz cans, drained
• 1½ lb beef short ribs
• 1 lb pork ribs
• ½ lb honeycomb tripe, cleaned and cut small, optional
• 12 cups water
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 4 tsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 4 garlic cloves minced
• ½ tsp Badia Onion Powder
• 1½ tsp Badia Cumin, ground
• 1 tsp Badia Sazón with Coriander and Annatto
• ½ tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
• 2 Badia Bay Leaves, whole
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 cup green peas
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 cups squash, peeled and diced
• ½ cup small pasta, optional
• Salt
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

1. Cook the hominy. If using dried, cook the soaked mote in fresh water until tender, 1½ to 2 hours. Drain. Canned, skip this.
2. Start the meats. In a large pot, cover the beef, pork, and tripe if using with the water. Bring to a boil, skim, and add the green onions, garlic, onion powder, cumin, sazón, pepper, and bay leaves. Simmer, partly covered, 1½ hours, until the meat pulls from the bone.
3. Build the pot. Add the hominy, chickpeas, potatoes, and squash. Simmer 30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and starting to break down.
4. Finish. Add the peas and the pasta if using. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes more. The mute should be thick, closer to a stew than a broth. If it is thin, mash a few potatoes against the side of the pot. Salt. Remove the bay leaves.
5. Serve. Cilantro over each bowl. A piece of each meat in every serving. White rice on the side and a Santander arepa, thin and crisp, to break over the top. Ají on the table for the ones who want it.

The cabrito, if you want the whole table: rub a bone-in kid goat leg with cumin, oregano, garlic, salt, and lime; roast it slow at 325°F until it falls from the bone, about 3 hours; and serve it with the mute, the arepa, and a plate of yuca. That is Saturday in Girón.

Pueblos de los Santanderes

Bucaramanga · Floridablanca · Girón · Piedecuesta · San Gil · Barichara · Guane · Curití · Socorro · Charalá · Zapatoca · Vélez · Málaga · Barrancabermeja · San Vicente de Chucurí · Cúcuta · Pamplona · Ocaña · Chinácota · Los Patios

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