One thing is for certain since I have started my placement in Cusco, I have been eating very well. With Lima being the food capital of Latin America, it is not hard to believe that Cusco has inherited some of this talent. The ingredients are exotic and the food is rich and varied, though focusing a bit heavily on starches. Even though and I have been trying to work out and exercise I have probably put on a few pounds because I simply can’t get enough of the amazing local food.
Not wanting to leave after three months and never have the opportunity to eat like this again I decided to learn to make some of the traditional dishes for myself under the tutelage of a local chef. Also, not wanting to keep these recipes to myself I am including two of them here for you try out at home. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Ají de Gallina
The ají de gallina (chili chicken) is a native dish of Peru. It is comprised of a thick cream of chili which covers shredded chicken. To achieve the necessary thickness pieces of bread soaked in broth or milk are added. This cream is served with boiled potatoes or white rice.
This was a very tasty dish and I will certainly be making it once I return to the UK. I’m not sure how I felt about the potatoes though…I think I have probably had enough boiled potatoes on this placement that I will never want to look at one ever again…might make it a bit less traditionally and skip the potatoes.
Ingredients (6 people):
- 3 large chicken breasts
- 1 onion chopped into large strips
- 1 kg of yellow potatoes
- 2 hardboiled eggs
- 1 cup of breadcrumbs or crushed salty crackers
- 1 cup of evaporated milk
- 100 grams of spicy yellow/orange peppers
- Salt, black pepper, and cumin
- 6 Crisp lettuce leaves – for garnish
- 6 Purple olives – for garnish
- 1 cup peanuts
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups of rice
Steps:
- Put the potatoes on to boil for 25 minutes with the peels on. Once boiled peel the potatoes with a spoon (or use a regular potato peeler)
- Boil the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of salt for 10 minutes
- Start cooking the rice with 3 peppercorns and a tablespoon of salt
- Chop up the garlic and peppers and fry in vegetable oil until soft – put in the blender/food processor
- Add the peanuts, crackers, and condensed milk to the blender/food processor and blend
- At this point the chicken should be finished. Take it out of the pot and pull the chicken into strips. I used my fingers but you could do it with two forks
- Fry the onions with oil, cumin, pepper. Once the onions are translucent add the blended mix and the chicken. Let simmer for 30min (longer the better-adding water if necessary) – stir slowly and occasionally. By the end it should be fairly thick.
- To serve:
- place a lettuce leaf on the plate
- stuff the rice into a small bowl and place face-down on the lettuce and remove the bowl so that the rice stays in the bowl shape
- place the peeled boiled potatoes on the plate
- Cover the potatoes with the chicken chili mixture
- Carefully slice up the olives and the hardboiled eggs to garish
Rocoto Relleno
Rocoto relleno (stuffed peppers) is considered one of the most famous dishes of Peru and originated in the Andes. The dish is made by stuffing fried minced beef-mix or hardboiled eggs inside the rocotos and then topped with fried batter or melted cheese. The peppers (rocotos) are basically capsicum pubescens which are about ten times spicier than jalapeños which means if you are not careful when preparing them you are in for some fire.
Ingredients (5 people):
- 10 rocotos (capsicum peppers) – this could be 5 large bell peppers
- 200 grams of ground beef
- 2 carrots (diced)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 100 grams of peas
- 3 cloves of garlic crushed and diced
- 2 tablespoons of red pepper paste
- Salt, black pepper, and cumin
- Brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 200 grams of white flour
Steps:
- Dice carrots and boils with a teaspoon of salt. After 5 minutes add the peas and boil for a further 5 minutes. Drain and set aside
- Clean the peppers by cutting a slice from top to bottom and taking out all the seeds and run under cold water
- To reduce the spiciness of the peppers boil them with a tablespoon of sugar for 3-5 minutes. Repeat process 3-4 times, changing the water and adding the sugar each time. The steam coming off the pot should smell much less spicy by the end. If using bell peppers this process could be done only once
- Fry the garlic and onions in oil with a teaspoon of salt, black pepper, and cumin. Once the onions are translucent add the minced beef and the red pepper paste. After the meet is cooked add the carrots and peas and remove from the heat.
- Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture
- In a medium mixing bowl add the flour, eggs, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt and enough water so that it becomes a batter like consistency.
- Heat up a frying pan with enough vegetable oil so that it is at least a centimetre deep.
- Cover the opening of a stuffed pepper with the batter and place it face down (with the batter down) in the hot oil. Once in the pan cover the rest of the pepper in batter and fry it on all sides until golden brown. Repeat process for all of the peppers.
- To serve:
- Normally this dish is served with some boiled potatoes but you could substitute it with some rice if you wish or maybe a salad…mmmm….a salad. Have not had one of those in awhile….
Inca Power 