As with most places I go, I spent a lot of time in a Peruvian kitchen. Not to mention a restaurant kitchen! Here's my collection of Peruvian recipes. Thank you to my amazing host mom, Liliana Espejo, and my friend Mabel for these!
Chicha Morada (purple corn tea)
-1 kilo whole kernel purple corn (Peruvian purple corn is a beautiful, deep royal purple. I couldn't find any when I looked at the Mexican market, so I just used blue corn. Sometimes it's labeled purple, but it's blue in color)
-The rind of one pineapple
-1 tsp. whole cloves
-2 cinnamon sticks
-6-7 cups water (enough to cover the ingredients by about 3 inches)
-sugar to taste
-pineapple juice from 1 can pineapple
Directions: Wash corn. Put all ingredients but sugar and pineapple juice into a crock pot, and cook on low for 6 hours. Alternately, you can boil it for 2 hours or so on the stove. When the mixture takes on either a deep purple color, or a cloudy blue-yellowish color (depending on your corn), remove from heat, strain, add sugar and juice to your liking, and refrigerate. Usually this is served at room temperature without ice, but I like it a little cold.
Peruvian-Style Pulled Chicken
-2 chicken breasts
-1.5 Tbs. mild chili powder (not US chili powder with onion powder and such, the Mexican kind that only contains actual chilis). In Peru we use one called ají panca, but I can't find that here.
-5 cloves chopped garlic
Directions: Simmer chicken in water until just cooked through. Remove and let cool. When cool, pull the chicken into small strips. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan, and add chicken, chili powder, and garlic, and cook for a few minutes. This is used for the filling for tamales, pan de choclo, empanadas, and various other things.
Pan de Choclo (Peruvian-style filled corn bread)
(for pictures, see my other blog here: Sojourner Food)
-2 kilos fresh corn, ground. (The corn here is less starchy than Peruvian corn. So, I'd recommend instead just using 4 cups corn meal plus enough water to make a crumbly dough)
-4 eggs
-2/3 c. whole milk, or more to make a loose batter
-1/3 c. butter, melted
-1/2 c. sugar (I prefer honey...and my host mom would put in 1 whole cup, but that's up to you)
-1 Tbs. salt
-1/2 Tbs. cumin
-1/2 tsp. pepper
-1 recipe pulled chicken
-10 kalamata olives, halved
-3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
-1/2 c. raisins
Directions: Mix together all ingredients up to pepper. Put half the batter in a 9x11 pan, then arrange the chicken, olives, egg slices, and raisins evenly over the top of the batter. Cover with the rest of the batter and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through. Serve with thinly sliced onions dressed with lime juice and salt.
Salsa Huancaína
-3 ají mirasol peppers, halved and seeded (If you cannot find these, I like red jalapeños)
-1.3 c. queso fresco
-1.5 c. crushed soda crackers
-1 small can evaporated milk
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. pepper
-1/4 tsp. cumin
Directions: Fry the chilis in about a tablespoon of oil until the skin starts to blister and the chilis take on a dark brown color. Put in a blender (both chilis and oil) along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. This is usually served over peeled and boiled potatoes that have been sliced and garnished with slices of hard boiled egg and kalamata olives. You may also use this as the base sauce for Ají de Gallina, pulled chicken with ají pepper sauce.
This is also the base recipe for one type of the Peruvian hot sauce, Ají. Ají is also made only with green peppers, sometimes herbs like huacatay are added...but usually it'll be peppers, milk, and crackers or bread :)
This basic sauce is very integral in Peruvian cuisine and is made differently everywhere. This is just how my host mom made it.
Chupe de Trigo (wheat soup)
-5 c. chicken broth (usually made by putting half a chicken in boiling water with 1 peeled and quartered carrot, 1 celery stalk, and 1 quartered leek and boiling 2 hours).
-1 c. whole wheat grains, washed and stones removed
-1 c. lima beans (if canned, rinse first)
-2 carrots, cut into chunks
-2 yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
Directions: make chicken stock, then add wheat and potatoes, boiling about 5 minutes before adding carrots. Boil another 5-10 minutes, until wheat and potatoes are cooked through. Add beans, and serve. Usually served with ají hot sauce and lime slices.
Mazamorra de Naranja (orange pudding with meringue)
-6 oranges, juiced
-5 whole cloves
-2 cups water
-1 c. sugar, or to taste
-1/4 c. corn starch mixed with enough water to dissolve it
-Meringue (3 egg whites whipped with 1/2 c. sugar until "a punto de nieve", or until you see soft peaks and it's glossy.
Directions: Bring all ingredients but corn starch to a boil. When boiling, turn the heat to simmer, then pour in starch water mixture and stir until mixture becomes thick. Remove from heat and serve in small bowls with meringue on top. I love this hot, but it's also good cold. This is also made with chicha morada (then called mazamorra morada), which will usually have chunks of pear and orange in it, and served with arroz con leche (rice pudding) on top.
Papa Rellena (filled potato)
-1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked in the style of the pulled chicken above
-1/2 c. raisins
-10 kalamata olives, halved
-1 carrot, minced and cooked
-3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
-1/2 tsp. cumin
-3 large white potatoes, peeled, cooked, and mashed
Directions: Mix together all ingredients but the mashed potatoes. When mashed potatoes are cool, take about 1/2 c. in your hand, and form a flat oval. Fill middle with some of the beef mixture, and close potato around it so it is shaped like a football. Fry these until golden brown, and eat immediately.
For my humitas (sweet tamale) recipe, look here.
Let me know if you use any recipes!!
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