Sights and Tastes of the Osa Peninsula

In the December 2008 issue of Florida Sportsman, Managing Editor David Conway writes about his visit to Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, an emerging sportfishing destination.

Below, you’ll find additional photographs taken from the Osa Yacht Club on the Osa Peninsula, and you’ll find two terrific recipes from Joe Lynberg of OSA Yacht Club. You don’t have to go to the Osa to enjoy these recipes, but they do taste better there.

Curious monkeys, some gentle, others aggressive, live nearby the Osa cabanas.

The capital of Costa Rica, San Jose, first stop for visitors arriving from the U.S.

A view from the captain’s chair of Southern Costa Rica waters shows deep drops nearshore.

The Pura Vida at the Puerto Jimenez marina in the afternoon.

One of four Osa boats for offshore pelagic hunting.

You can walk into the jungle right around the corner from the Osa Club.

Sailfish by kayak has become steadily more common for the guys at Osa.

Commercial longliners at work not far offshore.

Cubera snapper are a frequent catch in nearshore waters of the Osa.

Here are two great recipes served at the Osa Yacht Club:

Fish Marsala

Marsala is fortified wine from Sicily in the town of the same name. It is a sherry type of wine that is full in character, brown in color and can be sweet and dry. This recipe calls for fish at least 1 inch thick. However, feel free to use it with any fish, preferably white.

2 pounds fish fillets (dolphin, snapper, snook) in four portions
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup (1 stick butter) = 8 tablespoons
1 to ½ pounds of fresh mushrooms (crimini, oyster, whatever you can find)
2 cups Marsala wine
3 cups chicken stock

1. Heat a 10-inch or bigger sauté pan over medium heat.
2. Season the flour with the salt and pepper. Dredge the fish in the seasoned flour, and shake off excess. Sauté in olive oil until brown on the outside.
3. Remove from the heat and put aside.
4. Heat half the butter in the same pan and sauté the onions, garlic, and mushrooms until translucent.
5. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala wine and chicken stock until reduced by half.
6. Finish the sauce by adding remaining butter tablespoon by tablespoon. Serve over pasta, rice, potatoes, etc. Serves 4

Yucca Potato Salad

The yucca, sometimes called manioc or cassava, is an edible root of a tropical plant from the Euphorbiaceae family. It has a white, starchy flesh beneath a brown skin, which here in Costa Rica is dipped/sealed in wax and sent to market. It is originally from Brazil and is widely cultivated in Central and South America. You can usually find it in a Latin Market or the Latin section at the produce department. It is pronouncedYou-ka

2 pounds yucca, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
¼ cup to 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup cilantro or parsley
4 medium carrots, grated
½ cup scallions

1. Boil the yucca in slightly salted water about 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from the water and when cool enough to handle, remove the hard core from each round and cut into 1-inchcubes. Put it aside.
2. Make the sauce in a blender by adding the garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and lime juice first. On slow speed, slowly add the oil to make an emulsion.
3. Add the cooled yucca, carrots and scallions to the dressing and allow to chill in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, best if chilled overnight. Serves 6