We invite you to explore the diverse cuisine at Morgan’s Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge creating a distinct dining experience in a remote tropical location working with employees from the local community offering mostly local products. Young men and women from the area have been trained by our management staff to offer you a taste of fusion between Nicaraguan, Central and South American, French and Asian cuisines.
Some of the products we use are organically grown and raised at our Hacienda including a variety of fruits and vegetables, milk, cheese, eggs, lamb and even our own brown sugar. The items we haven’t been able to grow on these 1,800 hectares, we try to buy locally from purveyors in San Juan del Sur, Rivas and in some cases Managua, supporting not only the 50+ employees on this farm, but also the local farmers in the surrounding vicinity.
In view of the fact that you are on vacation, we want you to indulge in and let us spoil you to the utmost, as we certainly seek to keep you pleasantly satisfied. Nevertheless, should you wish to watch your lines or you simply have little appetite, we’d be happy to create half portions of every dish on this menu. Please inform your waitperson during breakfast of your desire to keep in tandem with “less is more”. We are avid supporters of preparing only the necessary amounts of food, hence, taking your order at breakfast for dinner, and we appreciate your support in helping us keep our waste to a minimum. In addition, should you have any dietary special requests, please also inform us upon seating. Though your waitperson has been trained to remember your wishes, please remind them, should they have been remiss in serving you accordingly.
There is either an interesting story behind the terms used for certain fruits, vegetables or dishes. We have included some of facts throughout our menu, we encourage you to read them. We would like you to embark on your next destination having learned something typically Nicaragüense and our traditions!
A word of insight regarding our fish: being located a mere 50 meters from the source of what nature has to offer, we have refrained from mentioning the type of fish we serve in our dishes. To entice you with the absolute freshest fish, it is up to what the sea has to offer each day which will impact our daily selection. Hence, though perhaps used to exaggeration in other restaurants, we truly depend upon the “catch of the day”. Your server will inform you at both lunch and dinner of the tempting selection from which you may choose.
(The same may be applied to our fruits and vegetables. We are using only products which are in season and rather than importing them from afar, we are replacing them with other in-season items. This specifically applies to mangoes and avocados.)
Buen Provecho, Bon Appetite, Guten Appetit , Buon appetito,
Goede Appetit, Καλή όρεξη … Bon appétit
…enjoy the savory flavors and palate-tingling cuisine !
Restaurant
“La Bastide”
Hours
Breakfast 7:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Lunch 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Dinner 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Rise & Shine !!!
‘tis just another day in paradise, so make sure you start it off on the right foot
before you tackle that hammock, hill, bike or beach!
LIGHT ITEMS
(also available after 9 a.m.)
Fresh Fruit Juices from farm-grown fruits…your choice of:
Orange, Papaya, Pineapple, Watermelon or Tamarind
Tropical Fruit Plate
Homemade Toast served with
Butter, Guava, Mango or Strawberry Marmalades
Homemade Muffins
Served warm with butter
Fruit and Natural Yogurts
Granola with diced fruit
EXOTIC FRUITS!
The word exotic comes from the Latin root “exot” which means “out of”. Thus, one could derive that the main meaning of exotic is “coming out of another country”. In our menu we have tried to incorporate as many different flavors and colors from what to you might seem “exotic” fruits, but to us Nicaraguans they are part of our childhood and part of our day to day diet. We hope you enjoy the variety of tastes!
“For hundreds of thousands of years, mangoes have fallen in Asia. For who knows how long, children in the Andean highlands of Peru have urgently tugged a cherimoya apart to taste the sweet, perfumed delicacy of this treasure. From time immemorial, coconuts have floated across the South Seas, washing up on far-flung beaches. Fruit – natural, no additives, low fat, heart-smart, good for you. With every day that passes, exotic fruits – like their great counterpart, chiles – increasingly are working their way into our lives.” The Great Exotic Fruit Book, by Norman Van Aken with John Harrisson
| Mango (Mangifera indica) – there are more than 50 varieties with different shapes, sizes, colors and flavors. The most common ones are Tommy Atkins, Keitt, Haden and Piña. When ripe, the skin turns into different colors, depending on the variety (red, yellow, orange, purple) and it becomes soft to the touch. Mangoes can be eaten fresh, right out of the skin, or in salads, drinks, salsas, chutneys and even slaws. Native to India and Southeast Asia, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. Nicaraguans love it when green with a bit of very sour lemon, salt and a hint of hot pepper! |
HOT ITEMS
The “Nica Way”
with the best Gallo Pinto on this side of Nicaragua…
served with scrambled eggs and two warm flour Tortillas
The “ Guten Morgan”
A taste of home away from home…
Eggs cooked to your liking, served with Bacon or Ham and homemade Toast
Your Favorite Omelet
Select your Ingredients: Ham, Onions, Tomatoes, Bacon,
Red Peppers and Mozzarella cheese
Served with “Gallo Pinto” and homemade Toast
“Nacatamales”
A tasty variation of the Mexican “tamal”, Nacatamales are a delicious meal enjoyed by Nicaraguans. Usually eaten for late Sunday breakfasts, this hearty treat, wrapped and cooked in a banana leaf, will give you a true “home-meal”.
Morgan’s Rock Pancakes
3 light pancakes with a hint of coconut and cashews
served with Maple or Guava-Orange Syrup
Tortillas
How to make corn tortillas from scrap, well… almost!
If you want to truly make them from zero, you would have to go to a food market and ask for corn kernels or corn grain. However, to simplify it a bit, you can purchase “hominy” in your local grocery store. You take the hominy, add a bit of salt and then add water to it until you make a dough which can be molded into small balls (it can’t be too dry but it can’t be too sticky either). You need to find the right balance. Now, shaping and cooking the tortilla is a key step, and the one that involves the greatest skills. What you are trying to do is create as thin and round a patty as the dough allows. Work the patty with your hand and try to give it some shape. Now you’re going to bake each side for 30 to 60 seconds on a hot grill, making it soft and pliable. The tortilla should puff as you bake it. If air bubbles form in the dough, or it’s too wet and pasty, or too dry and burs, or is toasted as it bakes, the tortilla is ruined.
As you can imagine, Indian women who mass-produce tortillas three times a day don’t stop to think about the round form of the tortilla, or baking time or moisture content. Experienced Indian women in Nicaragua are a wonder to watch as they do this using nothing but their hands (no flat surface) as they pat out perfect circles between their palms. If you wanted to avoid this step, then you'd go buy a "tortilla press," which is a couple of round metal or wooden sheets that you press by means of a lever.
LUNCH
We are glad to offer a wide variety of salads, sandwiches as well as warm entrees to keep you going through all of your afternoon. If you are about to embark in a long hike, we recommend a hearty lunch to give you all the energy you need!
SOUPS
A nice, fresh start to your meal, ask your server to enlighten you regarding the
“ Soup of the Day ”.
Gazpacho
The queen of chilled soups, a light, spicy and tangy fusion of vegetables, cilantro, onions, lemon and herbs.
Chilled Cucumber Soup
A refreshing and cooling soup with a hint of garlic, cumin and mint
| Culantro (Eryngium foetidum L., Apiaceae): Culantro is an herb indigenous to continental Tropical America and the West Indies. Although widely used in dishes throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, it is relatively unknown in other parts of the world. Besides adding seasoning to our food, culantro is also rich in calcium, iron, carotene and riboflavin. It is also used in traditional medicines for fever and chills, vomiting and diarrhea. |
SALADS
All salads are served with your choice of dressing:
Honey-Dijon, Guava Vinaigrette, Lemon Yogurt, or a simple touch of
Olive Oil and Vinegar
Mixed Hacienda Salad
A colorful bouquet of lettuces, carrots, tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumber, Pejibaye and avocado (if in season). Great as an appetizer or as a main course. (We can also serve it with grilled chicken or fish.)
Morgan’s Salad
A secret twist to the infamous “Cesar’s Salad”. Mounds of romaine lettuce and the very special dressing of blue cheese and parmesan, topped with your choice of grilled chicken or fish and roasted cashews.
Oriental Chicken Salad
A fragrant combination of Nicaraguan regular coleslaw with an Oriental style salad complemented with a soy marinated chicken breast on the side.
Exotic Fruits and Vegetables!
Pejibaye ( Bactris gasipaes ): The pejibaye comes from a palm, which has one or several stems in a cluster, generally armed with stiff, black spines in circular rows from the base to the summit. This fatty fruit hangs in clusters of 50 to 100, it is yellow to orange or scarlet, yellow-and-red, or brownish first. The pejibaye is originally from the Amazonian areas of South America. The fruit is commonly boiled for about 3 hours, boiling causes the flesh to separate easily from the seed and skin. It is normally served with mayonnaise
ashew nuts: Cashew nuts come from the Cashew Apple (Anacardium occidentale L.). It is called marañon in Spanish speaking countries. One of the interesting things about the cashew is that the nut develops first and when it is full-grown but not yet ripe, its peduncle fills out, becomes plump, fleshy and pear-shaped with waxy yellow or red skin and a spongy, fibrous, astringent pulp. The cashew is native to Brazil. Cashew apple juice, without the removal of tannin, is prescribed as a remedy for sore throat; it is also said to be a diuretic.
Aguacate or Avocado (Persea americana): The avocado may have originated in southern México but was cultivated from the Rio Grande to central Peru long before the arrival of Europeans. Now the avocado is grown commercially not only throughout America, but all over the world. There are all types of varieties and food uses for the avocado: in half with salt and tortillas, as part of salads, in dips (guacamole), in stuffed shrimp or seafood, in gelatin, omelets, soups, chili and even ice cream
More from different parts of the world
Traditional Niçoise Salad
We couldn’t miss putting this on our menu! Mixed greens topped with tomatoes, boiled potatoes, eggs, green beans, black olives, tuna and a Dijon vinaigrette . Simply marvelous!
Tomato and Feta Cheese Salad
Relish with this most unusual combination of tomato, feta and onions, served with olive oil and red
vinegar dressing on a bed of lettuce.
Catalan Salad
A simple and yet delicious mix of greens, tomatoes, sliced onions and diced bacon is complemented
with prosciutto on a garlic toast!
SANDWICHES & WARM ENTREES
All sandwiches served with our home-made bread, lettuce, tomato, Yuca or Plantain Chips and Tropical
Beans, Fruit & Queso Blanco Salad
Grilled Vegetable & Cheese Sandwich
The highlight of our sandwiches, grilled and marinated eggplant, zucchini, sweet peppers, onions and mozzarella cheese and avocado (when in season)
Grilled Steak Sandwich
Marinated and sizzled to your liking, served with melted mozzarella cheese and
topped with caramelized onions
Chicken Salad Sandwich
A light and easy sandwich, try our homemade bread filled with a delicious chicken salad, add
lettuce and tomatoes if you would like
WARM ITEMS
All entrées are also accompanied by our
Tropical Bean, Fruit & Queso Blanco Salad.
Feel free to ask your waiter for extra chips on the side!
La Bastides Vegetarian Quesadillas
2 flour tortillas, mozzarella cheese and sautéed vegetables,
filled with barbequed sliced breast of chicken, duck or fish.
From the Grill
Simply fresh and healthy
Chicken Breast, Oriental chicken or Fish served with rice and vegetables
SPECIAL PLATE OF THE DAY
“Duck Hachis Parmentier”
Hum….!!!!!!!!!!!! Tropical duck!!!!! Have you ever tried it??
French culture, exotic products and tasty duck produced in our farm.
Try the mix of nice mashed potatoes with papaya flavor
covering duck meat marinated in pineapple and whiskey sauce.
SPECIAL PLATE OF THE DAY
Asiatic Shrimps
Our shrimps produced in our farm!
Fresh products as ginger, coriander, red beans, and young onions!
All this, finally cooked together to end up with Asiatic flavors proposed in a Latin paradise!!
Want to have a try for an exotic moment of pleasure….?
SPECIAL PLATE OF THE DAY
Appetizing Duck skewers
Not only duck “Magret” is delicious!!!!!
We are proposing today tropical and exotic duck skewers garnished
with oriental rice and covered by a pineapple and mango sauce.
Have a try!!!
Be surprised by the dispersion of combined flavors!!!
SPECIAL PLATE OF THE DAY
Éxtasis de camarones
Sugared and pink shrimps from our farm!!!
National rum “Flor de Caña”
Let’s put them together scattered with a “zip” of whiskey and start the fireworks!!!!
SPECIAL PLATE OF THE DAY
Montaña de camarones
Have you got the chance to visit the Nicaraguans mountains??
If not, we are proposing you today to have a try of our
“Mini mountain shrimp salad” covered by a fresh and flavored yogurt sauce
DESSERTS
To make our farm-grown coffee taste even better, we hope you will indulge
in one of life’s sweet pleasures :
Mousse au Chocolat
Do not leave Morgan’s Rock without having tried this infamous dessert !
Flourless Chocolate cake
Don’t miss out on this sensational chocolate cake! We call it the Unforgettable Chocolate cake… One of our most popular desserts.
“Arroz con Leche”
A typical Nicaraguan creamy rice pudding
with raisins and a hint of cinnamon
Kahlúa Flan
One of our chef’s specialties! Go ahead and try it!
It goes great with a cappuccino…
Our Own Coffee from Matagalpa
Our coffee is a must try for coffee lovers who crave the best We offer a gourmet coffee harvested to ensure not only the best taste, but harmony with nature and the local community Did you know that an 8 oz cup of coffee has 65 – 120 mg of caffeine?
| Espresso coffee |
| Regular cappuccino |
| Matagalpa café |
| Add a shot of Bailey´s to your espresso or cappuccino coffee |
| La Cumplida café |
| Add a shot of Kalhua to your espresso or cappuccino coffee |
An acre of coffee trees can produce up to 10,000 pounds of coffee cherries
MATAGALPA COFFEE
"Our coffee is a must try for coffee lovers who crave the best. We offer a gourmet coffee harvested to ensure not only the best taste, but also harmony with nature and the local community. Our coffee comes from a Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM farm that is committed to protecting biodiversity while supporting the rights and well-being of workers.”
For more information, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org
We offer three different types of coffee from Matagalpa
1. The Septentrion SHG
(Strictly High Grown) is a coffee which has great body, clean flavor and is beautifully balanced.
2. Le Train Bleu
(also SHG) is grown at La Cumplida, an outstanding property: 1,500 acres of coffee plantations, 2,000 acres of tropical cloud forest and 1,000 acres of tree plantation farm.
Especial La Marsellesa
(SHB – Strictly Hard Beans) is grown at an altitude of 1,300 meters over sea level, where fresher climate slows growth but aids the development of an intense flavor. This accounts for the “revolutionary get-up-and-march” taste, which should be present in a Nicaraguan bean.
Nicaragua is one of the most exciting “new” gourmet coffee producers of Central America. Our coffee industry emphasizes high quality and sustainable farming methods. Often overlooked and under rated, this is a very clean, crisp, bright coffee with a nice full body to finish. This will truly be an amazing cup of coffee! Matagalpa is the third largest city of Nicaragua after Managua and Leon. In 1852 Katharina Brown Elster, a German woman, and her husband Louis Elster planted the first coffee plants in their farm close to the area. By the 1880’s Matagalpa was producing and exporting the best coffee of the country.
COFFEE FACTS
- Germany is the world's second largest consumer of coffee in terms of volume at 16 pounds per person.
- Over 53 countries grow coffee worldwide, but all of them lie along the equator between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn.
- The percolator was invented in 1827 by a French man. It would boil the coffee producing a bitter tasting brew. Today most people use the drip or filtered method to brew their coffee.
- Up until the 1870's most coffee was roasted at home in a frying pan over a charcoal fire. It wasn't until recent times that batch roasting became popular.
- Each year some 7 million tons of green beans are produced world wide. Most of which is hand picked.
- The world's largest coffee producer is Brazil with over 3,970 million coffee trees. Colombia comes in second with around two thirds of Brazil's production.
- Hard bean means the coffee was grown at an altitude above 5000 feet.
- Arabica and Robusta trees can produce crops for 20 to 30 years under proper conditions and care.
- Most coffee is transported by ships. Currently there are approximately 2,200 ships involved in transporting the beans each year.
- The first coffee tree in the Western Hemisphere was brought from France to the Island of Martinique in the 1720's.
http://www.gourmetcoffeeclub.com/cof_facts.htm |
