Recipe: Patita con maní (pork trotters with(out) peanuts)
Patita con maní is a traditional creole dish from my city. Middle- and upper-class urbanites tend to look down on it because it’s made from feet (pata = animal foot). Silly, I know. Not only because animal feet are cheap, but mainly because they’re full of collagen, which is highly nourishing for the joints, skin, and gut. Sadly, Alvaro and I never got to experience patita con maní back home.
Now that I’ve found good sources of pork, I’m keen on experimenting with different cuts. Pork trotters were in my radar and when trying to decide what to cook with them I thought it was about time to give the Peruvian classic a shot.
Pork trotters from Feather and Bone
Patita con maní (pork trotters with peanuts)
Patita con maní is a traditional dish from my city featuring pork trotters.
Ingredients
- 6 pork trotters
- 2 tbsp lard, bacon fat or tallow
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp ají amarillo
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup ground peanuts you can use almonds or cashews
- 3 medium potatoes or 2 swedes
- salt and pepper
To serve
- cauliflower rice
- salsa criolla
- veggies of choice
Instructions
- If you have a slow cooker and time, cook the pork trotters in water (cover them by 3 – 4 centimeters) for 8 – 10 hours. Alternatively, boil them in a pot until very tender.
- Strain pork trotters and reserve the cooking liquid. Separate the meat from the bones and nails, reserve.
- Heat fat in a pot or saucepan on low heat, cook onion, garlic and chili for 10 minutes.
- Add meat, ground nuts, vinegar and 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Serve with cauliflower rice, salsa criolla and your choice of veggies (we had Brussel sprouts and fennel roasted in bacon fat).
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5 Comments
john | heneedsfood
Now this is peasant food at its best. Boiling meat to cook and tenderise it, then add the flavourings later. It’s nourishing and, I’m sure, delicious. I wouldn’t hesitate eating this!
Miss Piggy
I see you’ve found one of the best butches in Sydney! Looks like a good dish for using cheap cuts of meat. Will you try it from your home town next time you visit?
lateraleating
Yeah, I will, I want to make sure I’m getting it right 🙂
Sara (Belly Rumbles) (@bellyrumbles)
I love making the most of ‘unloved’ cuts. This looks great, full of flavour and hearty.
lateraleating
Agreed! That’s the best lesson from traditional cuisines, IMO.