Entrée
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Recipe: Salpicón de pollo (Peruvian chicken salad)
Salpicón de pollo is a salad with chicken, cooked vegetables and mayonnaise commonly found in many Latin American countries. In Perú it’s often served as an entrée but it makes a wonderful main meal particularly during warmer months. This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days, especially if you dress it just before eating. On that note, I recommend you make your own mayonnaise (it’s super easy!) because most commercial ones are made with less-than-ideal ingredients.
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Recipe: Easy pulpo al olivo
Pulpo al olivo is a typical Peruvian dish made with octopus and olive mayonnaise. It is often eaten as an entrée or appetizer. This recipe is called easy pulpo al olivo because I’ve included a couple of shortcuts. The invention of this dish is attributed to Peruvian-Japanese chef Rosita Yimura. My lazy version involves no cooking and minimal preparation by using the following ingredients: pre-cooked octopus (see photo below) pre-made mayonnaise (I recommend homemade, this olive oil mayonnaise or this avocado oil mayonnaise). I also used Peruvian botija olives but you may use kalamatas.
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Recipe: Causa de atún (tuna causa)
Causa de atún is one of my favourite variations of causa limeña, a traditional Peruvian entrée. Causa is a cold potato-based dish, made with mashed potatoes that are flavoured with lime and chilli, then used to sandwich the filling. Traditional filling is made with shredded chicken and mayonnaise, but versions with fish and seafood are also popular and tastier, in my opinion. Legend says the name originated when Perú was under Spanish control. Street vendors would sell an early version of the dish “por la causa” (for the cause), the cause being independence from Spain. The recipe calls for ají amarillo (Peruvian yellow chilli) paste, which can be found online…
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Recipe: Palta rellena
Also known as Palta a la reina, palta rellena is a classic Peruvian entrée. I do not know much about its origin but it’s a fairly popular dish, particularly in restaurants offering set menu weekday lunch deals (aka “menú”). My version is heavier on the filling, which means it makes a decent-sized lunch.
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Recipe: Simple huancaína sauce
This is the quintessential Peruvian sauce, originally the main ingredient of papa a la huancaína (Huancayo-style potato), but nowadays used as a sauce to serve alongside pretty much anything. I like to serve it with cassava chips, made by boiling frozen cassava and then frying it in butter. The original recipe has the following ingredients: ají amarillo (Peruvian yellow chilli), queso fresco (Peruvian feta cheese), evaporated milk and soda crackers. I used to sautée the chillies with onion and garlic but this is optional. I now omit the crackers to make it gluten-free and lower carb and use ají amarillo paste because I can’t find fresh ones in Sydney. Also,…
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Recipe: Peruvian ceviche
Classic Peruvian ceviche (cebiche or seviche are the proper spellings that nobody uses anymore) consists of 4 ingredients: fish, lime juice, onions and chillies. It is normally served with sweet potato and choclo (Peruvian white corn). Less common accompaniments include potato, yuca (cassava), yuyo (seaweed), rice (!). Cancha is normally served as a snack, although some restaurants serve some as part of the dish. Buen provecho!
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Recipe: Huevo a la rusa (Russian-style egg salad)
Despite its name, huevo a la rusa is a Peruvian classic. So much so that I’ve been told it’s called “huevos a la peruana” (Peruvian-style eggs) in Chile. It is basically a spin-off of the traditional Russian Olivier salad, with the addition of eggs and golf sauce. It’s always served as an entrée, usually in “menú” (affordable set menu) eateries.
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Recipe: Pimiento relleno (Peruvian-style stuffed capsicum)
Full disclaimer: this in not an authentic Peruvian recipe. The traditional dish is called rocoto relleno, rocoto being a special type of Peruvian really really REALLY hot chilli that I haven’t been able to find fresh in Australia. You can find them jarred but IMO it’s not the same. They jarred version is wet and soggy, characteristics that are particularly unappealing when talking about vegetables you’re about to stuff. *Real* Peruvians (i.e. not my husband) like their food spicy, so they don’t mind their rocoto relleno to have a bit of a kick. Wimps and kids might prefer to have their rocoto boiled multiple times in water, vinegar and sugar…
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Recipe: Vegan causa
Yes, vegan. Before you think I’m crazy for bastardising one of my national dishes, let me explain. I made this version for an assignment for which I had to modify a recipe for social (i.e. religious, ethical, etc.) reasons. I thought of causa because I know people make vegetarian versions all the time (not me, I love it with seafood) but I have never seen a vegan version out there. Not only I had to ditch the main protein, but also the eggs used as garnish and in the mayo. I combined a few vegan soy-free mayonnaise recipes I found online and the result was awesome! Also so much easier…
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Recipe: Chicken heart anticuchos
This is a tasty way to get more offal in your diet. Heart is a great source of iron, vitamin B12, zinc, and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which is fundamental for the electron transport chain of mitochondria (the energy-producing cells in your body). Get chicken hearts from pastured chickens if possible (Feather and Bone is a great source) and fire up your grill for this twist on classic Peruvian street food (the original version uses cow’s heart). If you’re not keen on eating heart you can try this version with kangaroo.
