Why We Love This Fiambre Recipe
This amazing salad is enjoyed by Guatemalans one time a year celebrating All Saint’s Day. Fiambre Guatemalan Salad is truly the mother of all salads. Traditionally, a Guatemalan Fiambre offers a smorgasbord of family-favorite ingredients. Vegetables, meats, cheeses, and pickled relishes galore compose this salad. Like most traditional rural dishes, each family has their own recipe passed down from generation to generation. This fiambre recipe is no different! Fiambre is as varied and diverse as the beautiful Guatemalan people. Preparing and consuming the dish is quite a family affair in every way… Remembering loved ones’ past and the foods they enjoyed. Traditional Fiambre Guatemala can contain fifty to one hundred ingredients or more and take days to prepare. It takes days to procure all of the ingredients, grill, boil, pickle, and chop them before assembling the salad. It is a task not taken lightly.
There are three basic types of Guatemalan Fiambre:
Fiambre Blanco (White) Fiambre Rojo (Red) – made with roasted beets Decomposed – where it is all separate and you build your own
This Fiambre Guatemalan Salad is a simplified version. It still contains many ingredients, yet nowhere near as many as the traditional version. Feel free to add or delete what you wish, that is the beauty of Guatemalan Fiambre!
Fiambre Ingredients
Some traditional ingredients may be challenging to find in certain areas of the USA, yet they are fun to try if you have a chance. The meats in this salad are cooked, chilled and the majority served cold-cut style. The vegetables are traditinally cooked separately, chilled and often marinated ahead of time. To speed things up, you can add them to one pot of boiling water, according to cook time. You can see the many cultural influences in Fiambre Guatemalan Salad from the longaniza sausage, to Spanish olives, to the pacaya palm flowers. A delicious chimichurri-style dressing/marinade adds great freshness and tastes wonderful with every ingredient in the dish. Even with this simplified version, you will need to give yourself time to boil and prep all of the accouterments. Once that is complete, the fun begins; assemble your masterpiece!
For the Dressing and Marinade:
Parsley White vinegar or champagne vinegar Capers Dijon mustard Green onions Garlic Fresh ginger Honey, if needed Salt and ground black pepper Olive oil
For the Salad:
Chicken breast Shrimp Spanish chorizo (cooked and uncured) Longaniza sausage or linguica sausage Salami Ham Mortadella Queso fresco Parmesan cheese (or zacapa cheese) Red leaf lettuce Green leaf lettuce Small golden potatoes Cauliflower Asparagus (or brussels sprouts) Frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas and green beans) Pickled beets Hard-boiled eggs Radishes Spanish olives (green olives) Mini gherkins Pacayas (palm flowers) Bay leaf Dried thyme
Pro Tip: If you can’t find some ingredients, other items you can swap include: shredded cabbage, chickpeas, red beans, white beans, fava beans, black olives, sardines, baby corn, and even cut up hot dog.
Tips & Tricks
Adjust the ingredients according to your liking! Don’t like shrimp? Skip it! Or, if you like something a lot, add some extra. It is totally up to you! Traditionally, fiambre salad is served on Día de los Muertos (November 2) and Día de Todos los Santos (November 1). However, this packed salad would be great to serve at any time of the year!
Looking for More Salad Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
Israeli Salad Brazilian Chopped Salad 15 Bean Salad Spicy Kani Salad Zesty Chimichurri Tomato Salad
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