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Colombia
 Lechona

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Lechona

Main Dish
⏱ 240 min
👥 Serves 6
Difficulty ⭐⭐⭐

A whole pig stuffed with rice and peas and slow-roasted — a festive Colombian feast dish.

#Colombia#Pork#FestiveFood#Roast#Traditional
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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Lechona is a lavish festive dish said to come from Tolima in central Colombia. A whole pig is used: the meat is carefully removed from the bones without breaking the skin, mixed with rice, peas, onion, and spices, stuffed back inside, and roasted for hours. The skin turns crackling-crisp while the stuffing soaks up the juices — a must at Colombian festivals and celebrations.

🌆 Where it's eaten: In a village square at a festival, a whole roast pig is carved up and people line up for a piece with crackling skin.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 6)

👩‍🍳 Instructions

  1. Parboil the rice until still firm.

  2. Sauté minced onion and garlic and mix with the rice, peas, and cumin for the stuffing.

  3. Cut a pocket in the pork belly, fill it with the stuffing, and tie it into shape with twine.

  4. Rub the skin well with salt and roast at 160°C for 3–4 hours until the skin is crisp.

  5. Slice thinly and serve skin and stuffing together.

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