The Tolima-style cojín de lechona is a smaller version of lechona, for about 20 servings (the source speaks of 20–30 people), which leaves out the pig’s head. A filling of yellow peas and pork is wrapped in a piece of pork skin with fat, which is sewn shut and baked until the skin is toasted.
This recipe follows the Tolima and Huila version, without rice, and is traditionally served with insulsos and arepas oreja’e perro.
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Tolima-Style Cojín de Lechona
- Yield: 20 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients
- 5 pounds dried yellow peas (alverjas)
- 10 liters water (to cook the peas)
- 7 pounds pork
- 1 pound green onions (cebolla larga), finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 3 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons color (achiote)
- 10 pounds pork skin with fat (tocino)
- Kitchen twine
- Plantain or bijao leaves
Preparation
- Cook the peas. Soak them overnight in a pot with water (twice the volume of the peas). The next day, cook them in a large pot with the 10 liters of fresh water over medium heat for 3 hours. Drain and set aside.
- Season the peas and the meat. Cut the pork into large, long pieces of about 200 grams. Make a guiso in a skillet with the green onions, salt, cumin, and color, and use it to season the cooked peas and the meat.
- Assemble and sew the cojín. Spread the pork skin with the skin side down; add a layer of peas, then a layer of meat, and finish with another layer of peas. Sew the edges of the pork skin with a curved needle and twine to close the cojín and keep the filling in.
- Bake the cojín. Place it on a baking sheet with the sewn side down. Bake at 350 °F for about 2 hours; when the skin is toasted, cover it with plantain or bijao leaves and bake about 3 hours more. Check it so it does not brown too much, and spoon off the fat it releases.
- Cool and serve. Turn off the oven and let the cojín cool inside, without removing it. When ready, serve with insulsos and arepas oreja’e perro.
Note: the source does not specify fat or timing for the guiso.
Chef’s Tips
- Check the cojín while baking so it does not brown too much.
- Spoon off the fat it releases.
- If you prefer, you can cut the pork thinner.
How to Serve
The cojín is served once it has cooled inside the oven, alongside insulsos and arepas oreja’e perro.
Recommended Side Dishes
- Insulsos
- Arepas oreja’e perro
Did You Know?
The cojín de lechona is one of the innovations that arrived over time to lechona tolimense: a smaller version, for 20–30 people, that leaves out the pig’s head.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. This recipe, taken from Paseo de olla, contains no rice; the source states that in Tolima and Huila lechona does not contain rice.
It is a smaller version of lechona, for 20–30 people, that leaves out the pig's head.
When the skin is toasted, after about 2 hours of baking at 350 °F; it then bakes about 3 hours more.
It is spooned off during baking.
The recipe makes 20 servings.
