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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: Peruvian spiced chicken
I would love to say this is a recipe for pollo a la brasa but that would be a terrible lie. First, I did not use charcoal to cook it and second, traditional pollo a la brasa can be made with no other seasoning than salt and pepper. That’s why I’m calling it Peruvian spiced chicken instead. A couple of notes about ingredients: Peruvian dark beer (a.k.a. “malta”) is a bit sweeter than most dark beers here in Australia. I used O’Brien brown ale, which is not only delicious and gluten-free but also similar in taste to Peruvian malta. Feel free to use any dark beer you like. Ají panca…
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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.
