Tacu Tacu is an Afro-Peruvian staple that can be garnished with anything from seafood stews to sauteed vegetables. This version is great with a fresh Ensalada Criolla.

Tacu Tacu with Ensalada Criolla

Ingredients

• 1 cup white rice, cooked
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small purple onions, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons Ají Amarillo or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 key lime, juiced
• cooking spray
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion, garlic, and cumin until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. While the onions saute, combine rice and beans in a large bowl. Add the Ají Amarillo and mash the rice and beans together.
3. Add the sauteed mixture to the beans and lime juice and combine. Season with salt to taste.
4. Form palm-sized patties using about 1 cup of the mixture.
5. Spray the skillet with non-stick cooking spray and cook the patties over medium-high heat until slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side.

This salad makes a great side for burgers, tacos, or with any summer cookout that needs an extra tangy, flavorful punch.

Ensalada Criolla

Ingredients

• 2 medium avocados, cubed
• 1 pint tomatoes (we used sunburst), halved
• 1 medium red onion, julienned
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes before serving.

I don’t know a lot about the foreign relations between Peru and Russia, but after seeing this salad on almost every menu in Peru I am not sure if it has something to do with the country of “Rusa” or if beets are synonymous with that nation everywhere in the world. Either way, all of these fresh veggies and a light mustard dressing make this salad is a winner.

Ensalada Rusa

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of asparagus, chopped and steamed
• 3 beets, roasted, peeled, and cubed
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 cup of English peas

Dressing

• 1/2 teaspoon mustard, ground
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Combine prepared vegetables and set aside.
2. Thoroughly mix the dressing ingredients until the oil and lime juice are incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Dress the salad and serve.

Get a good dose of your summer greens with this hearty curry!  If you don’t have sweet potato and dandelion greens (often available during the summer at your local farmers’ market), you can substitute spinach, kale, chard, or nearly any other kind of greens in their place.

Sweet Potato Greens Saag Paneer

Paneer is an Indian fresh cheese. You can also substitute widely available dense, un-aged Hispanic fresh cheeses that  may be sold under a variety of names including, but not limited to, queso fresco, queso blanco, or panela. However,  for the best results, we suggest making your own fresh cheese at home!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces paneer, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin
• 1 teaspoon whole coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seed
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 serrano peppers, stemmed and roughly chopped
• 2 bunches (about 5 cups) sweet potato greens, stemmed and finely chopped
• 1 small bunch (about 2 cups) dandelion greens, stemmed and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Prepared Basmati rice

Preparation

1. First, you need to prepare your fresh spices for the curry. Using a mortar and pestle or a clean coffee grinder, grind the whole cumin, coriander, and mustard seed into a powder. Set aside.
2. Use a food processor to finely chop the onion, ginger, garlic, and serranos down to a near paste-like consistency. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat.  Once the oil is hot and moves freely in the pan, add the paneer cubes and fry.  Turn the paneer cubes every 10 to 15 seconds or so to get all sides fried to a light golden brown.  Remove the fried paneer from heat and set aside. Discard the excess oil.
4. To prepare the curry, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on medium-high heat in a large, heavy pot (a wok or karahi works best).  Add the ground spices and simmer in the oil for about 2 minutes until brown and fragrant.  Add the processed onions, ginger, garlic and serranos and lower the heat to medium. Fry this mixture for 10-12 minutes.  By the end of the 12 minutes, the onions should be browned and all the spices and fragrances should mellow and harmonize.
5. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the sweet potato greens, dandelion greens, and water. After about 5 minutes the greens should have cooked down to about half their original volume.  Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for another 8 to 10 minutes until the greens are very soft.
6. Add the fried paneer and garam masala, and cook for about 1 minute more to get the paneer warmed.
7. Turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt.
8. Serve with prepared rice and enjoy!

Saltado is a dish that typifies Peru’s multicultural cuisine. It is essentially a stir-fry that combines eastern and Latin flavors with fried potatoes.  It is fairly easy to find vegetarian saltados in Peruvian restaurants, but the most popular version by far is beef loin, or lomo, saltado.  This recipe uses wheat roast instead of beef, but portobello mushrooms, seitan, and tofu all make great saltados as well.

Vegetarian Saltado

Ingredients

• 1 pound yellow potatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch thick strips
• 1 pound wheat roast, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• 1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon ají amarillo paste or 1 minced hot pepper
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into eighths
• 1/2 pound sweet peppers, such as bell, sliced into strips
• 2 medium carrots, julienned
• 1/4 pound snow peas or snap peas
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Pisco (optional)
• olive oil cooking spray
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 key limes

Preparation

1. Liberally coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange potato slices in a single layer and spray with oil and season with a pinch of salt. Cook potato slices in the oven, preheated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow to bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wheat roast and saute for another minute.
3. Add ají, tomatoes, snow peas, peppers, parsley, spices, vinegar, Pisco, and soy sauce. Cook until tomatoes are softened and the peas and peppers are tender.
4. Add prepared potatoes, and quickly toss together. Remove from heat when all ingredients are at a consistent temperature.
5. Sprinkle with lime juice before serving.  Serve with an ají of your choice.

Fresh fruit juices are an inexpensive and popular breakfast staple around Peru. Most such juices are made in ordinary blenders which makes the process and clean-up extremely easy while creating a delicious, frothy beverage.

Fresh Pineapple Juice

Ingredients

• 1 whole fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• sugar to taste (optional)
• ground cinnamon or nutmeg

Preparation

1. Combine the fruit and water in a blender and process until smooth.
2. Add sugar to taste, if desired.  Blend to mix in the sugar.
3. Serve over ice, and top with a sprinkle of ground nutmeg or cinnamon.

This Peruvian-inspired hot pepper sauce, or ají, is a great way to add some tangy heat to your meals.  Ajíes are commonly used as a tabletop condiment, but they also make a nice spicy base for sautes and stir fries.  As a commenter below pointed out, aji is actually the word for a species of chili pepper, but we found the term to be used pretty interchangeably for any pepper-based spicy table condiment in Peru and Ecuador.

We made this ají with seasonal peppers, including serranos, hinkelhatz, and sweet Ringos, from Johnson’s Backyard Garden in Austin, TX.  We seeded about half of the hot peppers, but feel free to seed more if you don’t like a lot of heat, or less if you like more!

JBG Ají

Ingredients

• 6 ounces mixed hot peppers, topped and (optionally) seeded
• 1 large Ringo pepper, chopped (or half of a yellow bell pepper) and seeded
• 2 medium cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup key lime juice
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine peppers, garlic, and lime juice in a food processor or blender and process until thoroughly chopped.
2. Season to taste, but be careful because those tastes will be hot!

Store in a glass container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator (though you’ll probably use it up before then).

Mushroom Wellingtons with Red Wine Reduction.

This recipe is a delicious take on beef wellingtons and mushrooms, pecans, and yeast extract pack the dish with flavor and protein. Many of the premade puff pastry doughs you can buy in the store are vegan, but they are full of rehydrognated oils and corn syrup which are terrible for you. If you have time you can make your own or treat yourself to something that contains butter.

Ingredients

• Three large portobello mushroom caps, washed and degilled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 tablespoon yeast extract spread (like Marmite or Vegemite)
• 1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted if necessary
• cooking spray
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the three mushrooms cap up covered in the pan for about 2 minutes. Flip the mushrooms and continue cooking until just tender to the touch.
2. remove the mushrooms from the pan and add the remaining olive oil to the pan. Saute the onions, garlic, pecans, and sage until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer the saute to a blender of food processor. Add one of the mushrooms and yeast extract and blend, adding stock as needed, until a thick puree forms. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Stuff the remaining mushroom halves with the puree and put the two stuffed caps together to create a single semi-spherical stuffed mushroom.
4. Stack the sheets and place the mushroom in the center of the pastry sheets. Wrap the puff pastry around the mushrooms and spray the wellington generously with cooking spray.
5. Place the wellington in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the puff pastry is golden brown, for about 20 minutes.
6. Slice and serve with Red Wine Reduction Sauce.

Red Wine Reduction Sauce

This sauce is typically served with meat, but it makes a great gravy-like sauce any savory dish. It makes about 1/3 a cup of thick sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 white onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 medium leek
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

 Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots, and leeks and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Add rosemary, broth, wine, and tomato paste to the sauteed vegetables. Combine and bring to a rolling boil.
3. Cook until reduced by half, about 45 minutes. Drain the vegetables and return the sauce to a pan.
4. Bring the sauce back to a boil and allow to continue to reduce until the sauce reaches the desired consistency, about 30 minutes.

Trumpet mushrooms are used in this dish mainly because of their shape which, when sliced, look somewhat like scallops. I have no idea what scallops taste like, but if they are tender and mild then trumpet mushrooms are not a bad substitute.

Seared Mushroom Scallops

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (gluten-free if required)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/4 pounds trumpet mushrooms, cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 medium leeks, washed and sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, sliced into wedges

Preparation

1. Mix rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and water until the sugar dissolves at least four hours.
2. To cook the mushrooms heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet until very hot. Carefully place the marinaded mushroom slices in the pan and season with ground pepper and a sprinkle of salt. Allow the bottom of the mushroom slices to cook until a good sear forms, about 3 minutes.
3. Turn the mushrooms, season, and sear the other side.
4. While the mushrooms are cooking heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the leeks until just tender, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Plate the dish with 3 seared mushroom slices served over a 1/4 cup of sauteed leeks and a lemon wedge.