Bean Escabeche

This was our last Peruvian meal. I had planned it in the hopes of inviting our Paleo diet following neighbors over for dinner but I kinda forgot to invite them over...I think this is Paleo friendly, except for the rice. Okay I just took the time to Google "Paleo Diet" and no, this is not Paleo friendly. I thought you could eat beans when paleo but I guess not. I guess it's a good thing I didn't invite them over.

Ingredients

2 cups canary beans, soaked overnight. These are also known as Peruvian or Mayocoba beans. I used one cup and soaked for six hours.

1 lbs 2 oz smoked pork ribs. I used just under 1.5 because I didn't use the pork jowl.

11 oz pork jowl cut into 3 even sized pieces.

2 tbsps veggie oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp Panca chili paste

2 cups Peruvian Style white rice to serve

S&P to taste

For the sauce:

2 red onions, sliced. I didn't have a red onion so I just eliminated this part.

2 yellow peppers, seeded, membrane removed, and thinly sliced

2 tbsps veggie oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsps Panca chili paste

1 tsp honey

2 bay leaves

3 tbsps red wine vinegar

1/2 cup veggie broth. I also ran out of veggie broth so I used chicken stock instead.

Drain the beans and cover with cold water. Add the pork ribs and jowl, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and then simmer for 45 minutes, or until the beans are cooked. Set aside.

Heat the oil and add the onion and garlic; saute until the onion is soft. Add the oregano, chili paste, S&P, and cook until the paste has thickened. Add the beans and the bean cooking liquid, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for another 45 minutes. I cooked for an additional 20 minutes. You want to cook until the sauce has thickened and reduced.

For the sauce, saute the onion and peppers over high heat for a few seconds. Reduce the heat and add the garlic and chili paste. Cook for 1 minutes, then add the honey, bay leaves, vinegar, and stock. Cook until it has thickened and reduced.

When serving, pour the the sauce over the beans, with the rice on the side. 

This was probably my least favorite meal of the week but not because it wasn't good, it just wasn't as impressive as the others. The meat was extremely tender and the sauce was sweet and tangy but it just didn't blow my mind the way the others did. It was still better than anything we ate during Finish or German week but just not as great as its predecessors.

Like I said in the last post, we will definitely revisit this cuisine. I kinda regret NOT buying this cookbook but thankfully, that's what Amazon is for.

Arroz con Chancho

This recipe is called Arroz con Chancho, which translates to rice with pig. Spanish can sometimes be confusing because it often varies from country to country. I was once speaking to some Cubans about roasting some meat and one mentioned what they had roasted over the weekend. I didn't hear him clearly so I asked him to repeat himself. His friend said "Oh, si aquí se dice oveja." Translation: oh, yeah here they say oveja" Oveja means sheep. I asked what he had originally said and he said "Borrego" which technically also means 'sheep' but specifically it means 'lamb.' It can get confusing.

Off the top of my head, I can think of three ways to say 'pig' in Spanish: cerdo, puerco, and marrano. Growing up we always called pigs 'marranos' and pork was 'puerco'; cerdo wasn't used very often. I bring this up because when I saw the name for this recipe, I had to look up 'chancho.' Based on context clues, I quickly figured out it meant pork but I was curious to learn more. It appears that 'chancho' is more common in South America, which explains why I'm not familiar. So moral of the story: Español is muy dificil. Spanish is very hard.

Ingredients

2/3 cup veggie oil

2 1/4 lb pork, cut into 1 1/4 inch chunks. I used 1 lb pork loin.

1 red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped. I used 2.

3 tbsps Panca Chili Paste.  I wasn't able to find panca peppers or anything similar so I ended up buying the paste itself. I'm glad I did because I think I'll be able to use it again. It reminded me of dulce de tamarindo, which is a tamarind flavored candy popular in Mexico. I believe it's made of tamarind and chili powder and it's awesome! Ancho chili would be a good substitute.

1 tbsp Mirasol Chili Paste. I couldn't find mirasol peppers or anything similar so I just eliminated this.

1 tsp tumeric

3 1/2 cups  veggie broth. I used 2.

3 cups white rice. I used 1 1/2.

1/3 cup peas.

1 cup chopped cabbage.

1 carrot, diced.

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, membrane removed, thinly sliced.

1 yellow pepper, seeded, membrane removed, thinly sliced.

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

S&P

Heat the oil, season the pork with S&P, and fry until brown on all sides. Remove the pork and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent. Add the chili pastes and cook until the pastes have thickened; add the tumeric. Stir in the pork and veggie broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until the meat is tender, roughly 20 minutes.. Add the rice, peas, cabbage, and carrot, cover, and cook for another 30 minutes until the rice is fluffy. Stir in the bell and yellow pepper and let it sit for a few minutes. Scatter the chopped cilantro on top and serve.

I was originally going to make a heart of palms salad from the book but I wasn't feeling it. I decided to make my own with quinoa, red onion, red bell pepper, heart of palms, and lemon juice. I wasn't sure how it'd turn out because I have zero experience with cooking with heart of palms but it turned out well. If you've never had them, heart of palms kinda taste like artichokes.

This meal was de-li-cious! The panca sauce tasted like tamarind so it was a little tangy. The cabbage made it buttery and the carrots and peas added a sweetness. It was so good, James went back four times. Four times! He never does that. The girls even liked it, too!!

I'm really impressed that we've yet to have a bad meal. Peru is supposed to be a foodie's dream and I can see why. Their cuisine is so vast because they have so many different climates and while there are often similar ingredients, each meal had been unique. With Nepal, I used a lot of the same spices over and over again so there wasn't a lot of variety in flavor but that has not been the case with Peru.

We might revisit Peru later in the year because I feel like we haven't even begun to experience this mind-blowingly good cuisine!

Green Quinoa and Turkey Atamalado

Atamalado is a way of preparing quinoa as a stew. This recipe called for turkey meat, both white and brown, but seeing as how it's February and the only turkey available to me was either a full turkey or ground turkey, I choose the latter. I think it turned out fantastic.

I started eating quinoa about twelve years ago. Yes, this is my subtle way of saying I was into quinoa before it became a "thing." I'm a quinoa hipster. I was 23 and had recently had my first ever full physical. You know the kind, the one that in addition to weighing you and the basics, you also get a full blood screen to check for any abnormalities. I was still in college and living the college life. That is to say, I was not exactly eating healthy, or really do anything healthy. When it came time for my results, my doctor said that everything looked great and it was some of the best blood work he'd ever seen. His exact words were "So keep doing whatever you're doing because it's working out great" I replied "I eat fast food and drink Starbucks daily, smoke, drink alcohol, and don't work out." I remember him sighing and saying "I normally wouldn't encourage that behavior but it seems to be working for you. But maybe cut back on the smoking and drinking and eat a vegetable every once in a while." So with that in mind, I decided to work on my diet. I didn't need a doctor to tell me my lifestyle was unhealthy but I apparently did need his judgement to motivate me to do something about it.

I went to the grocery store and started buying actual food that wasn't sandwich meat, didn't come in a can, didn't require cooking in a microwave, and didn't have "Instant" on the label. It was hard. I was in the pasta section when I saw a little turquoise box labeled "Quinoa: A Complete Source of Protein." A complete source of protein in a box? Please continue! I read the box and learned that it was an ancient grain that was regarded as a superfood. This was in the time before smartphones so I had to go by what was on the box, I couldn't Google it. Because I'm an advertisers dream and constantly fall for flashy words and packaging (and because all it required was being boiled in water) I bought a box.

And I never turned back.

I actually enjoyed quinoa and because it was so easy to make and paired well with almost everything, I ate it regularly. Then it became the most popular food on the planet and the price skyrocketed. I don't eat it as often now because I've learned how to cook other foods but I still like it a lot.

The ingredients

6 oz quinoa

2 1/4 lb turkey meat. I used 1 lb ground turkey

4 tbsps veggie oil

1 red onion, chopped. I used half.

4 cloves garlic, chopped. I used 2.

2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped. I used one tomato and didn't skin it because that would have taken too long.

1 tsp dried oregano

4 tbsps Yellow Chili Paste. Remember, this is just yellow pepper blended with veggie oil.

4 cups veggie broth. I used 2.

3 tbsps blended cilantro, which is cilantro blended with water and then strained. It's basically cilantro water.

Brown the turkey meat and set aside. Heat oil and add the onion, tomato, and garlic. Saute until the onion has softened and add the oregano and chili paste. Season with S&P and cook until the paste has thickened. Add the turkey and pour in the broth and blended cilantro. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for an hour IF using turkey pieces and not ground turkey. If you're using ground turkey, add the turkey and quinoa, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve in bowls.

This meal was quick (my favorite!) and sooooo delicious! I've made ground turkey and quinoa before but I've always made them separately and then combined them. By boiling the quinoa with the turkey, it made the turkey soft and creamy. There was a slight lime taste and I think that's from the cilantro water. Both James and I really enjoyed this meal and I didn't give any to the girls because I was worried it would be too spicy due to the yellow pepper. I should have because it wasn't spicy at all but I'm sure they enjoyed their hot dogs and yogurt just as much as we enjoyed our dinner.

Crab Ceviche and Scallop Cau Cau

So far I've only made three Peruvian dishes but I've already learned they really like their sauces. The cookbook refers to them as pastes but maybe that's a language thing. The most common so far has been the Yellow Chili, Garlic, and Onion Condiment, which I mentioned in the last post was just yellow chili blended with oil and then fried with red onion and garlic. I mention this because for two reasons: 1. the next two recipes call for three different sauces and 2. if you're really trying Peruvian cooking, you just need to know this because it's going to extend your time in the kitchen significantly. You can make the sauces, which is what I choose to do, or you can buy them if you have a Latin American supermarket near you. I choose to make them because I don't see myself using these sauces a lot in the near future and I don't have a large pantry that can accommodate some extra jars. Also, these sauces require peppers that aren't that easy to find. Luckily I have Fiesta Mart so I was able to find most but not all. BUT I've searched the internet and have found some substitutes for you:

Rocoto pepper.
This looks like a small bell pepper but it's not. They have black seeds and are a little spicy. The ceviche called for a Rocoto Pepper Paste, which was the pepper blended with vegetable oil, and it was so fragrant, it made me cough. According to the interwebs, you can substitute a habanero pepper for this one. I took a pic of the rocoto pepper because it's so unique!

Yellow pepper.
This pepper looks similar to a banana pepper but like the rocoto is way spicier. They didn't smell spicy so I didn't wash my hands after removing the seeds and membrane. Big mistake. Big. I scratched my nose and applied lip balm and very soon after, I felt the burn.. Luckily I've done this enough after chopping jalapenos that I know to wash the affected area with hot water and dish soap but it was still uncomfortable. My hands and lips were still burning an hour later, which was the best feeling ever. Heat wise, a serrano pepper will match the yellow pepper but again, the habanero is supposed to be a better bet because the flavor is more nuanced.

Onto the ingredients:

Crab Ceviche

12 oz large crab, cleaned. You can use any variety of crab.

Juice of 20 lemons. I used 2.

5 tbsps rocoto chili paste, which is rocoto pepper blended with veggie oil.

2 tsps chopped limo chile. I couldn't find this pepper and couldn't find recommendations for a substitute so I eliminated this.

1 tsp chopped cilantro. I went ahead and used cilantro since it actually was for flavor and not dumb garnish.

1 medium celery stalk, chopped

1 1/2 oz fresh yuyo seaweed. I also couldn't find this so I didn't use it.

1 1/2 cups Tiger Milk. I'm not going to make a Charlie Sheen joke here because that would be too easy. Tiger Milk is a Peruvian marinade. This citrus based marinade is what cures the seafood in ceviche. It's made by blending lemon juice, fish stock, celery, red onion, salt, cilantro, and limo chile. Instead of limo chile, I used a small yellow pepper.

1 red onion, thinly sliced.

1 corncob, cooked and kernels removed, and 2 sweet potatoes, boiled and sliced, to serve.

Clean yo crabs! Here's a pic of mine. Ugly little effers!

Keep the meat from the head separate. I don't know why you do this, an explanation is not given. If you know, please share. In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, rocoto chili paste, limo chile, cilantro, celery, and seaweed. Season with salt. Pour this mixture and Tiger Milk over the crab meat. Add the head meat and mix together well. Add the onion and let this sit with ice cubes. Instead of using ice cubes, I put my bowl in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes.

I was introduced to ceviche over ten years ago but it was a white fish ceviche. When they explained how the fish was "cooked" by the citric acid, I didn't get it. Like, you cook with heat, not juice! I was never good at chemistry...when I finally got over it and tried it, it was delicious! I've had it numerous times since then but I've never actually made it myself, until today! And of course I chose crab ceviche, which involved shucking a crab, another first!

First things first: crabs look gross and they do not sing and dance like Sebastian from The Little Mermaid. That was a letdown. Second things second: crabs do not contain a lot of meat, at least not the blue crabs I used. The recipe called for 12 oz of meat but after smashing four crabs, I got half that amount. It worked out for us because only the hubs and I were eating but I tell him I was glad I wasn't making this for a large group of people

.

This ceviche was also to be served with corn and boiled sweet potato. Odd but okay. You know, sometimes things are put together for a reason and this was no exception. The corn was fine, nothing unexpected there, but the sweet potato was a pleasant surprise. It reduced the fishiness of the crab and the strong flavor of the cilantro. The few times I've had ceviche, it's been served with crackers but in this case, the starches were the potato and corn. I'm sure there's a science behind this but I'm not going to look into it. Overall it was really yummy and I'll make this again! But next time I'll just buy crab meat. I'm still finding crab shell in my kitchen.

Scallop Cau Cau

2 tbsps Yellow Chili, Garlic, and Onion condiment

3 tbsps yellow chili paste. This is made by blending yellow peppers and veggie oil.

4 white potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Since I was making just enough for James and I, I reduced the measurements by a lot.

2 cups fish stock

40 scallops. I used maybe 15 and cut them in half.

3/4 cups fresh peas. I used frozen.

1 tbsp chopped mint leaves

2 cups Peruvian Style white rice to serve

Sweat the yellow chili, garlic, and onion condiment with the yellow pepper paste. If you're using fresh peas, you can boil them at this point for five minutes. If using frozen, move along.

Add the potato and fish broth. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, until they are tender. Add scallops and peas. Once the scallops are cooked, roughly 2 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the mint and serve with white rice.

Scallops hold a special place in my heart but not because they are delicious; I had scallops on James' and my first date. Scallops will always remind me of that terrible first date. Memories! The mushiness of the potatoes paired well with the chewiness of the scallops but the real delight came from the peas and mint. I also think the rice with the cau cau was unnecessary. I think another veggie would be better because the potatoes are filing on their own. Both of us felt bloated after this meal but it was so good! It's just part of the job, you know...

Poor Man's Tacu Tacu

This week we're in Peru! Only one person voted in the poll and they voted for Russian food but we were in the mood for something lighter. Also, I found this great cookbook!

I was at Costco a few weeks ago and saw this gorgeous cookbook on Peruvian cooking. It's huge and colorful so I was immediately drawn to it! Way to go marketing team! At roughly 430 pages, it's almost an encyclopedia and I was thiiiiis close to buying it when I saw the price tag. $30. Nope, not gonna happen. I just can't justify spending that much money on a cookbook, or any book for that matter. Anyway, I was at the library last week and lo and behold, the super pretty cookbook was right there, FOR FREE. Easy decision right there!

The first meal is Poor Man's Tacu Tacu. In Spanish it's Tacu Tacu A Lo Pobre. Tacu tacu is apparently a very popular dish in Peru that is made of rice and beans, shaped into a patty, and fried. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but my favorite food combination is rice and beans. Any kind of rice and beans. I'll eat them all! So I was pretty excited about this! Also, it's fried. I love fried food.

Ingredients

1 lb any dried bean except fava beans, soaked overnight. I used a cup of pinto beans and soaked for five hours.

4 tbsps olive oil

2 tbsps Yellow Chili, Garlic, and Onion Condiment. What is this? Some sauce. The book called for yellow chilies but I didn't have any so I used banana peppers. I blended some banana peppers and veggie oil and then fried that mixture with some red onions and garlic. It made a chunky sauce that I let cool and then added to the patties. It's not exactly like the book recommended but whatever, it was still good.

2 cups Peruvian white rice. Peruvian white rice is just white rice with a fried piece of garlic added during the boiling. Nothing fancy but super good!

1/2 cup chicken broth

Pinch of cumin

1 3/4 lb beef tenderloin, cut into four pieces

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs beaten

7 oz bread crumbs

1 cup veggie oil

S&P

Drain your soaked beans and boil in cold water for thirty minutes, or until tender. Once tender, drain, set aside 1/6 of the cooked beans, and blend the rest. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the chili sauce. Add the whole beans, blended beans, and cooked rice to the pan; mix well. Gradually add the chicken broth, cumin, S&P. Cook until it has thickened and then remove from heat. Let it cool a bit and then divide into four portions. Shape each portion into a rectangle.

Heat some more oil and add the tacu tacus. Cook for four minutes on each side until brown. Set aside and keep warm.

Flatten the beef with a meat tenderizer. The book didn't say how flat but now that I've looked at pictures of this meal online, I know they meant very thin. I didn't flatten mine very well. Don't make my mistake. Season the pieces with S&P, coat in flour, then the egg, and then the crumbs. Heat some MORE oil and fry each piece, four minutes on each side.

This is normally served with fried bananas and a fried egg on top. I didn't make the egg part because I felt this was going to be more than enough food but I did fry a banana.

THIS WAS AMAZING! The tacu tacu reminded me of Gallo Pinto but tastier! I kept eating the mix when I was preparing it and noticed that it was drier after I fried it but I still loved it. I think it would have benefited from a sauce but that's about it. The meat was okay, nothing special, but the tacu tacu was fantastic! Even the girls ate it, BOTH OF THEM! I mean, granted the 3 year old smelled it first and said "NO!" but then I told her she could have some ice cream if she took just two bites. Two bites turned into eating the entire serving and her exclaiming "This is good, Mommy!" Success!