Roatan, Honduras

The cuisine of Roatán is a proper cultural jigsaw. Indigenous Mayan Lenca roots meet Spanish influence, Caribbean rhythm and African heritage. Coconut pops up everywhere – in savoury dishes, puddings, drinks – and frankly, I’m all for it.

Tamales arrive wrapped like little presents. Fried fish hauled in hours earlier. Baleadas, thick flour tortillas folded around refried beans, cream and cheese, are the kind of thing you could demolish at breakfast, lunch and supper without complaint.

Carne asada is served rare and proud: skirt steak charred over flame, scattered with radishes, coriander, lime and avocado. Chismol, a sharp salsa of tomato, red onion and peppers, coriander, lime and olive oil, cuts through it beautifully.

Soups are serious business here. Mondongo – tripe and hooves – isn’t for the faint-hearted (see Belize blog), Machuca from the Afro-Latino Garifuna culture found in Honduras, Guatemala and Belize, a creamy coconut soup with peppers, shrimp and sometimes conch. All the soups are served with plantains; they love cabbage and tortillas. Hondurans also love pork and cook a very similar Mexican dish using spices and sour orange (see Progreso blog).

Ceviche is big here, too, but unlike the Peruvian version, which uses only lime juice, they soften the lime’s sharpness with coconut milk, similar to the Filipino Kinlaw, which uses coconut vinegar (I never knew it existed). It is creamy, fragrant, and utterly moreish.