Vigorón

Vigorón is a popular Nicaraguan dish that is often served to unexpected guests and visitors, since it is quickly and easily prepared. It consists of boiled yucca, chopped cabbage, onions, tomatoes, chile peppers, and fried pork rinds known as chicharrones. Some Nicaraguans claim that there is no true vigoron without the addition of mimbro, a tangy fruit from the cucumber tree. The combination of these ingredients comes served in banana leaves when sold by street vendors. It is believed that vigorón was invented in Granada in 1914 by María Luisa Cisneros Lacayo, who had an interesting nickname – La Loca. According to Dr. Alejandro Barberena Pérez, she named the dish after seeing an advertisement for the eponymous medicinal tonic.