By Melissa Pette

Let's celebrate Thanksgiving in Costa Rica! Yay!

Many of us feel guilty after eating almost all those traditional feast dishes, such as turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, candied yams, cornbread, pumpkin pie or my favorite cinnamon roll apple pie. I'm gaining weight just by writing this!

But here is a solution to allow us to enjoy dinner without regrets, thanks to Al Kaufman, who shares his recipe for a low-calorie tropical turkey dinner.

Al shared that his family used to order an already-cooked Thanksgiving Day turkey for delivery. When he got married, he and his wife, who lived in Baltimore County in the U.S. state of Maryland, resumed the tradition of making dinner at home. "After many faux pas we managed to make our version of the Thanksgiving dinner," Al said.

After raising his two daughters, Al made the decision five years ago to live his "second round" in Tamarindo Beach, Guanacaste Province.

"My staff knows me, on Thanksgiving, we close my quad rentals business and take my team to my condo. There you will see me surrounded by my partner's kids and wives cooking the best meal of the year," Al added.

Today Al invited us to prepare his tropical version of turkey dinner. 

So, let's go to the kitchen!

Tropical turkey

By Al Kaufman

From Baltimore County, Maryland

Living in Tamarindo Beach

Ingredients for four:

•     The pulp of 4 mangoes.
•     4 tablespoons of sugar.
•     4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar.
•     1 seedless chili pepper.
•     1 onion, finely chopped.
•     Salt to your taste.
•     4 turkey breast steaks.
•     Frying oil.

First, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the turkey steaks for 10-13 min, turning once, until cooked through. 

Set aside on a board, cover well with foil to keep warm and leave to rest while you prepare the sauce.

Blend the mangoes, sugar, vinegar and chili pepper until they form a thick paste.

    

Fry the onion. Add the sauce mixture when the onion starts to brown. Season and let it simmer over low heat until it begins to boil.

 

Serve the breasts and pour the mango sauce on top. This recipe is fantastic!

Remember, white wines go best with Turkey. 

Have a Pura Vida Thanksgiving!

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Find more tasty step-by-step Costa Rican food recipes on the AM Costa Rica Food & Good Eating page. You are invited to share your favorite recipes with a horizontal photo of the dish by emailing food@amcostarica.com.