Morcilla

Blood sausage, but not the one we know.

Colombian morcilla is filled with rice, not barley or bread. Add pork blood, peas, onion and spices. What comes out is far closer to a stuffed roll than to what we mean by blood sausage at home: firmer, more crumbly, less greasy and much less heavy.

I approached it with a certain reserve and the reserve was unnecessary. It is excellent. You can taste the blood, but it does not fight anything, it only adds depth.

It came on a plate with an arepa and a fried sweet banana, sorry, plantain, the way it is done here, and a lime with it. The lime is not a garnish. A squeeze across it cuts the fat and the dish comes out completely different, so do not leave it lying there.

If you see this combination on one plate together with chicharrón and other bits, it is called a picada and it is meant for two.