Around the World in Eighty Bites—Peru

My first introduction to Peruvian food came courtesy of a brief fling with a Peruvian guy. We split up quickly, but my love affair with Peruvian cuisine was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


Peruvian Ingredients

From my first taste—Lomo Saltado with Aji Paste—to future finds such as my favorite, a layered potato dish called Causa, I’ve never tried a Peruvian dish I didn’t like. One of my close friends grew up in Peru, and she knows all the best Peruvian restaurants in and around Boston.

In recent years, Peruvian food has been touted as the next “It” cuisine. While Peruvian food is exotic enough to be a break from the ordinary, most Peruvian food is not so foreign that it cannot be easily made at home. Still, some authentic ingredients may not be easy to find if you do not live in an area with a significant Hispanic/Latino customer presence. Thankfully, we live in an era where anything we want is merely a click away, and there are plenty of online retailers selling authentic Peruvian foods.

I've created versions of several traditional Peruvian recipes that you can try at home!


Margarita Ceviche

2 cloves garlic, quartered
Juice of 2 limes
Juice of ½ orange
1 shot tequila anejo
1 habanero pepper, quartered
2 sprigs parsley, minced (leaves only)
3 sprigs cilantro, minced (leaves and stems)
A few paper-thin slices red onion
1 lb. dry sea scallops, cut into medallions*

Combine all the ingredients in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Cover with plastic film and place in the refrigerator. Let it chill for at least 2 hours (up to 12). Serve immediately in chilled bowls, or in margarita glasses with a salted rim!

* To cut the sea scallops, it helps if you place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes before slicing. When slicing, slice across the grain of the scallop as shown in the photo to the left—the blue lines in the photo represent the “grain” of the scallop, and the red line shows the direction that the knife’s blade should cut. Slice each scallops into 4 medallions of equal thickness.




Aji Sauce

1 thick slice baguette, torn into pieces
5 oz. can evaporated milk
2 aji amarillo chiles (use habaneros or serranos if you cannot find aji amarillos
2 small garlic clove, minced
2 sprigs cilantro, minced
1/3 c. grated cotija cheese
1 T. olive oil
Pinch smoked sea salt

Soak the bread for 10 minutes in the evaporated milk. Place the bread and milk in a blender or food processor with all remaining ingredients. Blend well until smooth. Keep refrigerated and use as a condiment.


Giant Corn with Cotija and Orange




Giant Corn

8 oz. dried giant corn (Goya sells this product)
4 c. cold water
2 dried de arbol or chipotle chiles
2 oz. cotija cheese, grated
Rind of1/2 orange
1 T. minced red onion
2 T. Aji Sauce (recipe above)

Soak the corn in the cold water overnight. Once soaked, drain the corn. Place it in a pot with the 2 dried chiles, cover with water by 2 inches, and bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 45 minutes, adding water if necessary.

Drain the corn and chiles and place in a bowl. When cool enough to touch, remove the chiles, mince them and place in the bowl with the corn. Add the cotija, orange rind, onion, and Aji Sauce. Blend well.

Serve either at room temperature or chilled.


Purple Potato Causa

1 lb. purple potatoes, peeled and diced
¼ c. grated cotija cheese
3 T. Aji Sauce (recipe above)
1 lime, halved
8 oz. canned crabmeat
2 T. mayonnaise
1 ripe avocado
Salt

Aji Sauce, to serve
Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Boil the potatoes in salted water. Drain and mash, incorporating the cotija cheese, Aji Sauce, and the juice from one of the lime halves. Set aside.

Combine the crabmeat and the mayonnaise and set aside. Next, mash the avocado with the juice from the remaining lime half and a pinch of salt.

Assembly will require a ring mold. To assemble the Causa, spoon a tablespoon or two of Aji Sauce onto a small plate. Set aside. Place your ring mold onto a sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Fill the mold with about 2 inches of the mashed potato mixture. Then, add a ½ inch layer of the avocado mixture. Finally, top the avocado with a 1 inch layer of crabmeat. Place the blade of a spatula under the parchment and over the plate containing the Aji Sauce. Slip the parchment out from the bottom, letting the mold slip onto the sauce (this will take practice—I ruined my first few tries!). Top with one or two cilantro leaves. Repeat until all ingredients are used, and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Giant Corn with Cotija and Orange



Margarita Ceviche

Purple Potato Causa

Peruvian Small Plates

Peruvian 101

Last night, I had the pleasure of dining on home-cooked Peruvian food.  I’ve neither cooked nor tasted Peruvian food before, and I didn’t cook it last night – I left the hard labor to the expert, my Peruvian friend who has been occupying a lot of my time lately.  Let me tell you something – having a man cook for me was delightful, and what made it more awesome is that the kid’s a great cook!

He lured me in with Lomo Saltado, a Peruvian dish consisting of sliced steak, tomatoes and onions marinated in vinegar and spices, then stir fried with a splash of soy sauce and topped with cilantro.  It is served over rice and fried potatoes, and he made a spicy Aji sauce to accompany the rice.  Holy Mary Mother of God!  This homemade hot sauce is quite possibly the best thing to ever happen to me, and I cannot wait to make my own.  I need to learn the proportions, but he told me that it’s easy to make and consists of habanero peppers, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  

Letting someone else take control and do the work in the kitchen is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done:

        “Can I help with anything?”  “No.” 

        “Can I at least do some dishes?” “No.” 

        “Really?” “Really.” 

        “Are you sure?” “Yes!” 

I literally had to go stand in the other room and watch from afar; standing in a kitchen and doing nothing felt far too odd and awkward.  I thought to myself, “This must be how goalies feel when the puck’s on the other side of the ice.”  I was fidgeting the entire time he cooked the stir fry.  I was relieved once the food was ready, because now I could do something with it, even if that something was simply shoveling it into my mouth. 

Along with our dinner, we shared a bottle of Rioja, which I tried for the first time last night.  I smelled and sipped the wine before I began eating so that the wine's flavor would be pure and would not have to compete with the flavors in the food.  My first thought?  The Rioja smelled exactly like Chianti.  I sipped; it tasted very similar to Chianti as well.  Definitely a variety I’d buy again.  Finally, it was time to taste the food. 

Each bite of Lomo Saltado was better than the last, and I wanted to savor each and every mouthful of the Aji-kissed rice.  I did – I painstakingly scooped up every last grain of rice with my fork until not one remained on my plate.  The meat was well-flavored and tender, the onions retained a slight crunch, and the tomatoes were bursting with flavor. He topped the dish with cilantro, which was the perfect foil for the spicy Aji sauce, and the Rioja was a great match for the dish as it was full-bodied enough to stand up to the bold flavors of Lomo Saltado.  When I commented that I thought the Aji sauce would be great on grilled tuna, he countered with, “It’s great on everything.”  I believe that.

This is definitely a recipe I’ll have to try on my own, but I’d be just as happy hopping in a cab and letting him wear the Chef hat!  I insist that you order this dish if you find it on a menu.  It’s a superstar!