Saturday, February 25, 2006

The Ceviche Route: Translation of Etiqueta Negra Article

Original: Daniel Titinger, Etiqueta Negra, Number 18, 2004.
Link to original Spanish article in Etiqueta Negra here.


This article by Peruvian journalist Daniel Titinger appeared in the excellent Peruvian magazine, Etiqueta Negra. This is not an official translation; rather, my own translation which I did in order to bring you this information about ceviche. Daniel Titinger has kindly agreed to permit me to post it on this blog.

If you have a chance to get a copy of this magazine, do so. Calling themselves 'A Magazine for the Distracted,' Etiqueta Negra (Black Label) has excellent articles and first-rate photographs. Etiqueta Negra is fast-becoming a leading magazine in the Spanish-speaking world.

Whenever I go to Peru I stock up on the current and previous month's editions and bring them back home. I hope you do the same on your next trip to Peru.

The Ceviche Route

By Daniel Titinger

Son of a bitch!

Ceviche (also spelled cebiche in Spanish) may owe its name to a real son of a bitch.


It was the beginning of the 19th century. In Lima, diners were bored eating meaty soups; in France, the gourmet and lawyer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was writing about the dangers of acidic food; and off the north coast of Peru, an English ship was anchoring.

According to the gastronomical
cognoscenti, off the ship disembarked an English sailor. As he reached the beach, he saw a dark-skinned man with prominent cheek-bones eating raw fish with salt and lots of ají (as hot peppers are called in this part of the world).

The sailor asked to try a bit. He took a piece of the raw fish seasoned with
ají just like the local man's, bit into it, began to chew, and when he felt his mouth, throat, and even the blood in his body suddenly turn to fire, taking him to hell and back to heaven in a moment's breath, he hoarsely cried out in desperation, "Son of a bitch!"

In the wise way of language, that phrase became sonabitch, and then, simply, sebitch. And that is how, as the story goes, in a happy outburst, ceviche was christened.


Spicy, salty, provocative. Like any complex dish, ceviche is circular---one doesn't know where it begins or where it ends.

The origin of the word ceviche might be a different one. "But that's not important," complains Cucho. We are about six kilometers off the coast of Punta Sal in northern Peru, in a white boat, with a blue sea, a radiant sun, an at the exact coordinates where nothing matters much.


I have traveled over a thousand kilometers of the Panamericana Norte highway, following the route of the finest ceviches, and now, on the third day of this trip, with Ecuador just up the road, a fisherman tells me he has no interest whatsoever in stories about the origin of the name of this quintessential Peruvian dish.

He may be right. In his small town of Máncora, he is simply known as the finest fisherman in the North, but sometimes, when the sea becomes rough, not a single fish takes even his bait. He wakens daily at four in the morning, and the origin of the word ceviche is not among his concerns.

What he does care about, for example, is that people call him
Cucho, although his real name is William Anto. What the fisherman doesn't know is that the word cucho also means 'fertilizer,' according to my dictionary, proving that sometimes words do matter.

In prehistory, what we call ceviche likely included
ají­, salt, and even tumbo, an acidic Andean fruit similar to maracuyá, but ceviche, the dish as we know it, only began to exist when the word was first uttered.

Then again, there are different stories. Others suggest the same English sailor may not have sampled anything at all. As he saw the local man put the fish in his mouth, he may have simply pointed and yelled out, "See the beach! See the beach!"


Historian Marí­a Rostworowski, author of
A History of the Tahuantinsuyo, has another hypothesis: in 1535, four Moorish slave women were sent from Spain to Peru to serve the Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro. Possibly, when they saw people eating raw fish with salt and ají, they were repulsed by what they considered savage behavior, yet they may have thought the dish might taste better marinated in the juice of that green, round fruit they had brought from far away: limes. Or, oranges.


Seibech is an Arabic word for acidic foods. Since Peruvians did not speak Arabic, they only heard something that sounded like ceviche.



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Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Seño María Is Still Running Her Restaurant

Seño Marí­a is still running her restaurant and serving her two friends, the photographer Gary, and the taxi driver Shorty Matta, who always stop by for lunch and a discussion of the day's affairs.

If you missed the original post, the link appears below.

Otherwise, I wonder what's been on the menu since we last visited?

2/12/06: El Chato Matta llegó al restaurante por un espectacular arroz con pollo con bastante rocotito molido.

Shorty Matta arrived at the restaurant for a spectacular chicken with seasoned rice, and lots of pureed rocoto hot sauce.

2/13/06: El fotógrafo Gary llegó al restaurante por su causa rellena de langostinos y un espectacular arroz con mariscos.

The photographer Gary arrived at the restaurant for his spicy mashed potato terrine stuffed with prawns, and a spectacular seasoned rice with seafood.

2/14/06: Mi amigo taxista, el Chato Matta, llegó al restaurante por sus tallarines verdes con bistéc frito y chicha heladita.

My friend, the taxi driver Shorty Matta, arrived at the restaurant for his spaghetti in a green spinach, pine nut, and cheese sauce, topped with a fried steak, and an ice cold sweet purple corn drink.

2/15/06: El fotógrafo Gary llegó al restaurante por sus lentejitas con cojinova frita.

The photographer Gary arrived at the restaurant for his slow-cooked seasoned lentils and fried cojinova fish.

2/17/06: El fotógrafo Gary llegó al restaurante por sus tallarines rojos con pollo y papa a la huancaína.

The photographer Gary arrived at the restaurant for his spaghetti and chicken in red sauce, and potatoes in a creamy spicy cheese sauce.

2/18/06: Mi amigo, el fotógrafo Gary, llegó al restaurante por su arroz con pollo y su jarrita de chicha morada heladita.

Mi friend, the photographer Gary, arrived at the restaurant for his chicken with seasoned rice, and his jug of ice cold sweet purple corn drink.

2/19/06: El Chato Matta llegó al restaurante por un espectacular ceviche con una jarra de limonada heladita para curar la resaca.

Shorty Matta arrived at the restaurant for his spectacular ceviche, along with a jug of ice cold lemonade to cure his hangover.

2/20/06: Mi amigo Gary llegó al restaurante por su cevichito de cojinova y su arroz con pollo.

My friend Gary arrived at the restaurant for his cojinova ceviche, and his chicken with seasoned rice.

2/21/06: El fotógrafo Gary llegó al restaurante por su clásico sancochado con chorizo incluido.

The photographer Gary arrived at the restaurant for his classic meat and sausage soup with potatoes, yuca, and corn.


Click here, if you're wondering: Who the heck is Seño Marí­a?




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Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Recipe: Pisco Sour

Isn't it about time for a pisco sour?

If you've never had this drink you can't imagine how refreshing it is, tart yet sweet, seemingly mild yet deceptively potent.

If you have had a pisco sour, you know what I'm talking about.

What is pisco? you may ask. Essentially, a clear brandy or spirit made from grapes cultivated along the coastal valleys of Peru. More on pisco later, I promise, including its history and elaboration.

Right now let's focus on MAKING that most famous of Peruvian cocktails: the pisco sour.

Traditionally, the pisco sour requires three key ingredients: pisco, simple syrup, and Angostura bitters.


But don't despair if you don't have all three ingredients! The bitters are only a garnish anyway, and you can make your own simple syrup, just keep reading...

Pisco sours also require either lime or lemon juice. You be the judge to see which is better. The most traditional pisco sours are made with egg whites, but not all recipes call for them. To make things easier, instead of simple syrup, some recipes call for simply using sugar. Ice and a shaker are all else you need to get started (although some recipes below calls for a blender.)


Let's go from the easiest to the most complicated recipes.

Pisco sours don't get much easier than these first two recipes. If you have pisco, sugar, and some lemons, you're good to go. They don't really tell you how much ice to use, but I would guess about half of the glass I was using to serve. You could also blend ice and all. Bitters, what's that?

pisco sour using sugar and lemon juice from Webtender

pisco sour using sugar and lemon juice from Drinks Mixer

If you managed to find a bottle of bitters somewhere in the pantry but still want to keep it simple, here's a good one:

pisco sour using sugar, bitters, and lime juice from Cuisine du Monde


So now you want to get serious about your pisco sour and make it in true limeño fashion using egg white?

You've got the pisco, the egg, some limes, but you don't have that darn simple syrup, and you don't want to make it. Don't worry, this recipe calls for sugar instead:

pisco sour using sugar, bitters, egg white, and lime juice from Peru Travel Adventures

Your ready for the final test: a pisco sour with all the bells and whistles. They way it's supposed to be.

You don't have simple syrup? No problem! Here's an easy recipe for making your own at home:

click here to see a recipe for simple syrup from All Recipes

Here is a recipe for making the most traditional type of pisco sour using lime juice:

pisco sour using simple syrup, bitters, egg white, and lime juice from Drink Boy

This traditional pisco sour recipe by Audrey Saunders from Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City calls for lemon juice:

pisco sour using simple syrup, bitters, egg white, and lemon juice from New York Metro Recipes


Wasn't that good?

There is a bit of a debate as to where the pisco sour was invented, but I'll save that story for a later post. New York Metro has an interesting anecdote at their recipe site:

"This unusual Peruvian drink was popularized by Charles Baker, food-and-drinks editor of Town & Country in the 1940s."


¡Salud!

To see more pictures of pisco sours on this blog click here and here.



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Monday, February 20, 2006

Gaston Acurio interviewed by Elena Hernández in Panama's Diario La Prensa

Original: Elena Hernández, La Prensa, Panamá, 02/19/06.

OK, I admit I'm a Gastón Acurio fan. And the more I learn about him, the more I like him. Unfortunately, there isn't much written about him in English (yet!) so as I find interviews and articles about this one-man Peruvian food empire, I'll translate them for your reading pleasure. As I mentioned to a friend recently, I find translating curiously relaxing.

Our favorite Panamanian chef Elena Hernández hinted that she was going to post her interview with Gastón Acurio on her blog, El Amor Por La Cocina.

From a previous post, we know she met Gastón at the recent Madrid Fusion international gastronomic festival.

What she didn't tell us is that her interview was going to be the cover story of the Sunday Mosaico magazine from the Panama City daily, Diario La Prensa. Kudos to her for a great interview that permit us learn more about this man who is bringing Peruvian cuisine to the world's attention.

Below is my translation of Elena's interview. I hope you come to admire Gastón as do so many others.



Image and interview courtesy of Diario La Prensa
and El Amor Por La Cocina.



Gastronomic Emperor

By Elena Hernández

Since first hearing about Gastón Acurio, I really wanted to meet this young chef who in the past few years has become the leading proponent of Peruvian cuisine. At last, I had my opportunity in Madrid, during the fourth annual gathering of Gastronomí­a Madrid Fusión, held in mid-January of this year.

If it wasn't for the television camera crew that follows him everywhere he goes, Gastón Acurio would go unnoticed in Madrid.

The simply-dressed 37-year old chef married Astrid, a German classmate from the Cordon Bleu, who is now not only his business partner but also the head pastry chef in the Acurio empire.

Gaston, who is at Madrid Fusión for the first time, has been invited as a guest speaker. He was the only Latin American presenter this year, and became a source of pride for the Latinos who were participating at the gathering.

I waited for the right moment to approach him, introduce myself, tell him we studied at the same school, and that I have all his books.

When he hears I am from Panama, he tells me that next July he plans on opening a branch of his acclaimed Astrid & Gaston Restaurant in Panama City. There are already branches in Santiago, Quito, and Bogota, and by the time the one in Panama City opens, there will be branches in Caracas and Mexico City as well. He has plans to expand to Canada and London.

He asks me about products available locally in Panama like sushi-grade yellow fin tuna, and other fish and shellfish.

He is also the owner of La Mar, a cebicherí­a [in Miraflores, Lima] where they serve tiraditos, causa, chicharrones, and anticuchos, in addition to serving pisco, cocktails, and Peruvian beer.

Gastón the businessman serves three-thousand meals a day between his restaurants and catering services. His enterprises earn 12 million dollars a year. He also has a TV program, two cookbooks, and a new culinary encyclopedia he brought with him to Madrid. Most recently, Gastón has opened up a gastronomic research laboratory south of Lima, where he conducts experiments and consults with his experts.

All of us who live to cook or cook to live already know this much about Gastón Acurio. But my curiosity goes further. And Gastón, like any good chef, is willing to satisfy it.

He takes a few moments out of his hectic schedule to answer some questions:

EH: Tell me, what happened after the Cordon Bleu?

GA: I wanted to experience the world of the Parisian bistros, so I began to work in them. I wanted to see what life was like working in that type of a restaurant, and how that would affect my family. I knew this was the life I was going to be living later on, and I wanted to be ready for it.

EH: If you could do it over, would you still go study in France?

GA: At the time, it was my best option.

EH: Did you experience the same thing that most of us who were trained in a French kitchen did?

GA: If you mean the shouting and discipline, I ended up having to see a psychologist because of how badly I felt each time I had to discipline one of the people who worked for me. Now, the philosophy is completely different.

EH: How do you describe your cuisine?

GA: My cuisine is Peruvian, personal, modern, and free.

EH: Is the term 'fusion' out of style?

GA: Peruvian cuisine is in fact a fusion cuisine that begins with the encounter in the Americas, when the Spanish take our potatoes to Europe and they bring us their cows and pigs. Later, when African slaves are brought to Peru, the women end up doing the cooking. The Chinese also arrive in Peru to work in the sugar cane fields, and that's the origin of chifa cooking. In fact, Peru has the highest per capita number of Chinese restaurants in the world. And finally, the Japanese arrive to work in Peru, and from them we get the Nikkei kitchen.

EH: And ceviche, is it from Peru?

GA: There are many theories.

EH: A few months ago while I was preparing a conference on the gastronomy of Panama, I found a number of advertisements in American cooking magazines that promoted Peru as a gastronomic destination in Latin America. Does the restaurant industry in Peru receive government support?

GA: The Peruvian government is aware that our cuisine represents a powerful and highly valued element of seduction for visitors. Peru is a country rich in art and history, but many tourists now come not only to visit Cuzco and Machu Picchu but also to eat well.

Nowadays, our cuisine is a key export product of our nation's brand. If you noticed, the only country that has an information stand here at Madrid Fusión is Peru, and that's thanks to our government.

EH: You travel with a crew of four people. Are they paid by the government?

GA: Not at all. The television crew is paid for by the station, and I am a guest of the congress. I don't usually accept help from the Peruvian government so that we don't have any misunderstandings. I have restaurants in many countries and have to travel constantly. I only ask for government support when I have to bring ingredients to an event like this one. (He says this with a big smile.)

EH: In Chile, a law was modified to allow the use of kid goats with a weight less than three kilograms in your signature dish at Astrid & Gaston Restaurant in Santiago. How did you accomplish that?

GA: In Chile, there was a very old law on the books with regards to the age at which a kid goat or a suckling pig could be slaughtered. When I arrived to open up the restaurant, I had to go to the goat and pig breeders so that as a group we came together to state that in order to attain our culinary goal we needed to work with animals no older than three weeks. And we were able to accomplish it. This is an example of how chefs can collaborate with government in order to raise the quality of the gastronomic offer, which in the long run benefits a wide sector of a country's economy.

EH: Astrid & Gaston is a Peruvian restaurant, how do you obtain the ingredients in each country?

GA: I adapt the menu to work with the products in each country. We do have to bring some ingredients from other places. For example, for the Astrid & Gaston in Bogota, we fly in tuna and swordfish from Panama.

EH: From Panama?

GA: Yes. (He smiles.)

EH: Panama has excellent fish and shellfish...

GA: Is there something called conchas negras there?

EH: Of course. We also have lobster, prawns, corvina, grouper, razor clams, mussels, octopus, spider crabs, any seafood you desire.

One final question Gastón. What is the secret to being a great chef and attaining success?

GA: There are certain elements I consider important: being ethical and loyal, having integrity, being honest, demonstrating leadership and dedication, showing respect for the product, for our employees, and ultimately for the customer.

You also have to know how to delegate. I have my right-hand man, his name is Victoriano and he's here with me in Madrid. He started off as a dishwasher for a year and a half. He only recently learned to speak Spanish, before he only spoke Quechua, an indigenous language in Peru. Now he's learning to use the computer and studying Windows. He's great. I'm certain he's a much better cook than I am, the only difference is that I had the opportunity to be trained formally in Europe and he didn't.

Money is not something that should worry us nor should it be our motivating factor. It's simply the result of following the elements I mentioned earlier. Success is something that smiles on you, or doesn't, as long as we bear in mind that before being good chefs, we have to be good people.




The day before I leave Madrid, I run into Gastón Acurio very early in the morning sitting in the hotel lobby reading the papers. He is getting ready to leave in a few hours for Barcelona to film a series of television programs. He gets up to greet me and asks me when I'm planning on going to Lima. I tell him soon. I mention that the previous night I had been looking at some blogs that talked about his presentation at Madrid Fusión. There are many people who said he was their hero. He blushes, looks at me, and says: you're kidding, right? I give him the blog addresses so he can see for himself.

Modesty.

As the renowned American chef, Thomas Keller, stated during his presentation at Madrid Fusión, modesty is an ingredient that every celebrity-chef must include in his recipe book.

Gastón Acurio has more than enough.

For three days, Madrid was the destination for the most important chefs in the world. This gastronomic event included conferences, practical demonstrations, contests, and tastings.

Gastón Acurio was trained in Europe but returned to Peru to modernize its culinary culture. And he's accomplishing that quite well. His television program, The Culinary Adventure, is seen by a high number of viewers in Latin America, giving him an opportunity beyond
Astrid & Gaston to share with others his knowledge and his cuisine.

Click here to read the interview via Elena's blog El Amor Por La Cocina.

Click here to read the original article in La Prensa


Read more about Gastón Acurio here at Peru Food by clicking on any of the links below:

Gastón Acurio: Inexhaustible Creativity

Another Interview with Gastón Acurio

Gastón Acurio Interviewed by Elena Hernández in Panama's Diario La Prensa

Video: Anthony Bourdain in Peru

At Madrid Fusion Elena Hernández Chats with Gastón Acurio

Gastón Acurio

Astrid & Gaston Restaurant






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TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana

Sunday, February 19, 2006

A tour of el Barrio Chino, Lima's Chinatown

A traditional arch welcomes you to Lima's Barrio Chino at the corner of Jirón Ucayali and Jirón Andahuaylas.



The 700 block of Jirón Ucayali, right next to Lima's Mercado Central, or Central Market, is known as Calle Capón.

Click on the map below to get a closer view of the area. Notice the arch is incorrectly placed at the corner of Jirón Andahuaylas and Jirón Huallaga; it should be at Jirón Andahuayalas with Jirón Ucayali.



Calle Capón is the heart of Lima's traditional Chinatown.



Chinese food is readily available for purchase in el Barrio Chino. People come from all parts of the city to shop there.

This is a very busy and crowded part of the city, so please exercise caution, and be careful with your belongings. Whatever you do, do not go past the Plaza Italia or Jirón Huanta. The area is historic but is dangerous for outsiders. Jirón Huanta is clearly labeled in the map above.




There are two venerable dining institutions in el Barrio Chino.

One of them is the Salón Capón at Jirón Paruro 819.



The other famous Barrio Chino restaurant is Wa Lok at Jirón Paruro 864.



Click here to read more about Salón Capón and other Chinese restaurants in Lima.


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Saturday, February 18, 2006

Recipes: Causa

As promised here are some recipes in English for causa (somebody asked: it's pronounced 'cow-sa').

Remember, as
Mi Causa restaurant with its 38 different types of causa teaches us, with causa the only limits are your imagination.

My personal tips for making a superb
causa:

The key element is the quality of the potatoes. Where I live, organic Yukon Gold are the tastiest I've found. In Peru,
causa is usually made with the grande dame of flavorful Peruvian potatoes, papa amarilla. So wherever you are, make sure you invest in the best tasting potatoes you can find.

This recipe is from
Epicurious for a causa with a a chicken filling. If you don't have access to ají you can substitute any hot pepper you have in your area, but bear in mind that causa is not meant to be very spicy, it should have just a hint of spicy heat. Use very light oil. I like the comments on this page.

causa at Epicurious

This next recipe is from Recipe Source for a causa with many different types of ingredients. It would make quite a spectacular showcase causa but you don't have to use the fried fish or even the yuca root if you don't want to. You can always substitute tuna, avocado, or boiled diced shrimp. If you do use yuca, make sure you devein it, taking out the fibrous center strip. Give the kalamata olives a very quick rinse to get off some of the briny flavor. In Peru, those olives are called aceitunas de botija.

causa at Recipe Source

The following is a down-and-dirty, very easy causa recipe from Food Down Under.

The only part in which I disagree is that you use 'leftover' mashed potatoes.

No.

That's simply wrong.

You must use freshly-made mashed potatoes for the best causa taste experience. Nonetheless, this is a good, easy-to-follow recipe:

causa at Food Down Under


Finally, this recipe from Yanuq is for a
causa stuffed with tuna. They offer some good ideas for alternative stuffings, and good photos of the technique, although it really is more of a causa roll than a traditional causa. Nonetheless, here is the link:

causa from Yanuq

As you can see, causa is a very versatile dish. However you decide to make it, I am certain you will enjoy it.

click here to read more about causa and its origins

click here to find out where you can try 38 different types of causa

Happy
causa!




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At Madrid Fusion, Elena Hernández Chats with Gaston Acurio



I love the slogan behind her: 100% Panamanian.
Courtesy of El Amor Por La Cocina.

The very lovely Panamanian chef, Elena Hernández, was recently at Madrid Fusion, where she met up with award-winning Peruvian chef, Gastón Acurio, who almost single-handedly is bringing Peruvian cuisine to the attention of the most demanding foodies in the world.

As Elena finds out, Gastón was once a law student who went to Europe to study. As fate would have it, he meets Astrid from Germany, and falls in love. He decides to chuck law and become a chef instead. After studying in Europe, he returns to Peru to open Astrid & Gaston Restaurant determined to bring Peruvian food to the attention of the world.

The rest is history in the making.

Elena's interview is in Spanish, but the Cooking Diva has graciously translated it into English.


Click here to read the Cooking Diva's translation of Elena Hernández' interview with the award-winning Peruvian chef, Gastón Acurio.


If you want to read Elena Hernández' original interview in Spanish and see her great photographs, visit her blog:

El Amor Por La Cocina.


Read more about Gastón Acurio here at Peru Food by clicking on any of the links below:

Gastón Acurio: Inexhaustible Creativity

Another Interview with Gastón Acurio

Gastón Acurio Interviewed by Elena Hernández in Panama's Diario La Prensa

At Madrid Fusion Elena Hernández Chats with Gastón Acurio

Gaston Acurio

Astrid & Gaston Restaurant




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TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana

Friday, February 17, 2006

And speaking of causa...

I was reading today's El Comercio and saw a mention of a restaurant in Miraflores that offers 38 different types of hot and cold causas!

I can't imagine that many fillings.

And a hot causa seems very unusual, since one of the key characteristics of causa is precisely the fact that you serve it cold.

Another restaurant to go on my list of places to visit on my next trip to Lima!

So that brings me to my next question: I wonder how many different causas I can eat in, say, a week's visit?

Mi Causa
Avenida La Mar 814, Miraflores
Tuesday to Sunday, 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
222-6258

I know I promised recipes for causa --- I'll be posting them in the next few days.

click here to read more about causa

click here to read some causa recipes in English



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Monday, February 13, 2006

Causa: A Unique Potato Starter

Causa is very unique Peruvian dish.

Served cold as a starter, or as a light meal, it is a seasoned mashed potato terrine, stuffed with
tuna, egg, shrimp, or avocado. It is often topped with ají­ or black olives.

Some people say it looks like a potato pie while others call it a potato cake.

Whatever it is, causa is quite good.


In conducting research for this post, I've come across three different versions of the origins of causa.


The pre-Hispanic version.

According to Peruvian gastronomic historian Rodolfo Tafur, the word causa comes from the Quechua word kausay, which means 'life' or 'sustenance of life'.

At its most essential pre-Hispanic roots, this dish was simply boiled potato eaten with slices of ají­, a dish combining two key Andean crops: potatoes and ají


The Colonial version.


Causa limeña, or Lima-style causa, was first made in the Colonial period. The Spanish knew the pre-Hispanic dish kausay, and they took the simple potato dish, and incorporated other ingredients depending on what was available: fish, olives, or avocado.


The Republican version.


One story says that causa was invented by a well-bred Lima hostess who, on short notice, had to feed a battalion of soldiers celebrating Peruvian Independence Day. All she had on hand were some potatoes which she cooked, mashed, and seasoned, some eggs which she boiled and sliced, and some black olives which she placed on top of the assembled dish.


Whatever the origin of causa may be, there is no doubt that this unique dish is in a constant state of evolution.

I'm going to find and post some links for causa recipes on a later post.

click here to discover where in Miraflores you can sample 38 different types of causas

click here to read some recipes for causa in English



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The Crab Lover's Place: Mi Perú in Barranco

Original: Raúl Mendoza, La República 7/23/05.


This is an informal, unofficial translation of an article by Raúl Mendoza, writing in the Lima daily, La República, about a Barranco institution, Mi Perú.

It might be hard to find a restaurant serving a better crab than Mi Perú in Barranco.

By Raúl Mendoza, La República, 7/23/05

While not a glamorous restaurant, it exudes the warmth of a friendly
huarique, as Peruvians call those hole-in-the-walls whose appearance belies the quality and flavor to be encountered. It offers a well-served lunch, and above above all, a spectacular specialty: concentrado de cangrejo, crab cooked in a tomato-based sauce.


The kitchen at Mi Perú is unsurpassed at this dish. To confirm this fact, doubters simply need to head towards Plaza Butters in Barranco, and guided by a firm step and keen sense of smell, enter the restaurant, and request the specialty of the house.

This restaurant and its
sazón, or unique seasoning and flavor, is a temple of seafood cuisine visited by newbies on discovery, seekers of hidden treasures, loyal long-term followers, wise travelers, and gourmets who know what they're talking about when they talk about food.

The
concentrado de cangrejo
exceeds all expectations.

The life of the party at this modest, traditional, and thirty-plus year old Barranco restaurant is Aida Cerreños Vásquez, a native of Trujillo who has been living in Lima so long she's forgotten what year she arrived.

The formula for her
concentrado
's success, she says, is to make it using small crabs typical of the North of Peru, and then boiling them just the right amount of time in a sauce made with tomatoes and secret seasonings. When the crab turns pink, all that's left to do is start tasting. Then, see if you can stop.

"You smash the shell a little so it cracks and the meat inside can cook. Ten minutes boiling in the sauce, with just a little water, and the
concentrado
is done. It's simple but it's become our signature dish," says doña Aida.

She is absolutely correct. Her restaurant has served politicians, artists, and five-star chefs. Everyone leaves well-fed and satisfied.

Mi Perú is located on a corner of Plaza Butters. Our hosts are Jimmy and Roy, doña Aida's sons. The restaurant was founded 33 years ago by their deceased father, Raúl Taype Miranda. They have been at the same location the entire time, but will soon undergo an expansion. They plan on keeping the same menu, although they may add some new dishes.

The restaurant opened serving seafood, and crab wasn't even added to the menu until 1977. Now, "we may be the only restaurant in Lima that offers it," says Jimmy.

We taste the
concentrado de cangrejo
and can attest that our hosts didn't exaggerate when they recommended the dish. We end up leaving only scraps of claws and shell on our plate. The stock is good enough to raise the spirits of even the most morose.

Daily specials are listed on a blackboard in chalk, just like years ago. One of our fellow diners tells us, "Anyone who tastes this restaurant's sazón, becomes a loyal customer for years."

Also notable are the cebiches, made from lenguado, cojinova, or mixed, and a tortilla de conchas con langostino, clams, mussels, and langostinos in a Spanish-style egg dish.

Just remember, your first visit to Mi Perú may be the beginning of a long relationship with this Barranco seafood classic.



Mi Perú
Lima 861, corner Plaza Butters, Barranco
Monday to Sunday,
Lunch only, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Arrive between 12 or 1 p.m. otherwise you risk not getting a table.
Closing: when the food runs out.
Cash only.
247-7682




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Sunday, February 12, 2006

Un Piqueo de Mariscos: A Seafood Sampler

This is a ronda de mariscos, or piqueo de mariscos, which means a sampler of a variety of different seafood starters.

I don't know the exact menu at Mi Propiedad Privada, so I am going to hazard a couple of guesses as I examine the above photograph.

It looks like there is an octopus ceviche, perhaps marinated in an onion and lime mixture.


There are some type of cheesy crackers; I imagine there is some type of seafood under that layer of cheese. I'm thinking something savory, maybe anchovy.


I see some lovely shrimp in a creamy spicy sauce.


And the ever-present mote, or boiled corn kernels, accompanied by boiled sweet potato.


In the center of this platter is the potato terrine, or stuffed mashed potato cake, called causa. In this case, it is most likely stuffed with shrimp.


Click here to read more about Restaurant Cebichería Mi Propiedad Privada in the San Miguel district of Lima.



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Thursday, February 09, 2006

The Pisco Sour

Photo courtesy of Loco Zodiac.

Click here to see more pisco sours.


Click here to see how to make a proper Peruvian pisco sour.



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The Fruit of Peru: Chirimoya

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Parihuela: Sea Food Soup

Parihuela, typical of the coastal region, is a rich and complex seafood soup.




Click here to see a recipe for parihuela.






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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Geography And Cuisine: The Three Regions of Peru


Peru has three very specific geographic regions.

This map does a good job showing those three geographic features : costa, the coastal desert, sierra, the Andes mountains, and selva, the Amazon rain forest.

(Look! The text is even color-coded to match the map! Pretty nifty, yeah?)


This very distinct geography has played a significant role in the development of Peruvian cuisine. The varied landscapes within Peru provide for the availability of a wide variety of ingredients as well as a diversity of cooking styles.

Understanding the geography of Peru is the first step in understanding the cuisine of Peru.

These are the three regions of Peru:

The 1900 mile/3000 kilometer long coastline of Peru is an arid desert facing an ocean teeming with sea life. Fertile watersheds are carved out along the desert floor by rivers that descend from the Andes mountains as they head westwards towards the Pacific.

Also 1900 miles/3000 kilometers long, running parallel to the coast, the Andes mountains are the spine of the country. The Andes separate the coastal desert on the west from the Amazon rainforest on the east. The Andes contain numerous microclimates suited for varied types of agriculture as they ascend from the coastal desert floor, rise upwards as high as 22,000 feet/6700 meters, and then descend along their eastern flank into the lush Amazon rainforest.

The Amazon rainforest of Peru is a region crisscrossed with rivers flowing eastward down the Andes mountains, through lush terrain, converging with other rivers, all flowing eastward to join the mighty Amazon on its journey to the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the rainforest is still isolated and unexplored. In fact,the main Peruvian city in the Amazon, Iquitos, to this day can only be reached by plane or boat, not by road.

In later posts, I will discuss each of the three regions in depth. And how each region has contributed to Peruvian cuisine as a whole.

For now, the most important thing to remember is that in Peru, there are three regions: costa, sierra, y selva, the coast, the Andes, and the rainforest.




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The Fruit of Peru: : Maracuyá

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The Fruit of Peru: Lúcuma

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Tuesday, February 07, 2006

La Seño Marí­a Recommends


La Seño Marí­a
is the pseudonym of a columnist for Trome, a daily paper from Lima. In the daily column, la Seño Marí­a runs a restaurant and every day her photographer friend Gary arrives to get the special of the day, and between the two, they discuss the state of affairs in Lima and Peru.

Aside from enjoying the
chisme or gossip, I read la Seño Marí­a because each day's column begins with the same line:

El fotógrafo Gary llegó al restaurante por
...

meaning,

The photographer Gary arrived at the restaurant for ...

And then the columnist lists a traditional Peruvian dish a restaurant might serve as a daily special.

I'd like to keep a list of the dishes la Seño Marí­a serves her friend Gary, so I know what to order next time I'm in Peru.

The dishes may repeat, so I'll keep my eye on the column and add new postings as la Seño Marí­a expands her repertoire. Otherwise, we may just have to complain to the columnist.

El fotógrafo Gary llegó al restaurante por ...

1/28/06: su platón de lentejitas con cojinova frita (his platter of slow-cooked seasoned lentils with fried cojinova fish).

1/29/06:
su espectacular chicharrín de calamar (his spectacular fried calamari).

1/30/06:
sus tallarines rojos con pollo y papa a la huancaí­na (his spaghetti and chicken in red sauce, and potatoes in a creamy spicy cheese sauce).

1/31/06:
su rico sancochado (his tasty meat and sausage soup with potatoes, yuca, and corn).

2/01/06:
su causa rellena con pulpa de cangrejo y arroz con mariscos (his potato pastry stuffed with crab meat, and seasoned rice with seafood).

2/02/06:
su espectacular piqueo criollo con olluquito, cau-cau y carapulcra (his spectacular mixed criollo dishes including the tuber olluco in a stew, diced tripe in a rich potato stew, and a dried-potato and meat stew).

2/03/06:
su tallarí­n saltado con su jarrita de chicha morada heladita (his meat, vegetable, and noodle stir-fry, and an ice-cold jar of the sweet purple corn drink chicha morada).

2/04/06:
sus ricos pallares con bistec frito (his tasty slow-cooked seasoned white beans with fried steak).

2/05/06:
su espectacular lomito al jugo (his spectacular roast steak in its own juice).



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Picarones: Pumpkin Fritters


Recently, someone I know asked:

What else can I do with pumpkin except make pumpkin pie?

I immediately thought of picarones, pumpkin fritters, that street vendors make in the afternoons in Peru. A perfect picarón is light and airy, never greasy, and well drenched in rich syrup.

I'm not a chef, but I do know how to search the internet. And sure enough, there is a recipe in English for picarones. If anyone has success making these at home, let me know.

Click here to see a recipe for picarones.

Just in case the link doesn't work, here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin cooked and strained
  • 1/4 cup water in which the pumpkin was cooked
  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • Frying Oil

PREPARATION:

In a beater mix the pumpkin puree gradually adding the milk. Then add the flour and cornstarch beating constantly. Add the yeast, which has previously been dissolved in the hot pumpkin water with the sugar.

Mix to a smooth paste and place in a bowl. Heat the oven to 300 F. and place the bowl inside the oven for a minute. Turn the oven off and leave the dough inside the oven for 45 minutes giving time to raise. In a large skillet or deep frying pan add plenty of oil to heat.

Dip your fingers into the mixture, grab some, and drop it into the hot oil trying to shape them as a doughnut. Fry until golden and well puffed up. Serve with a syrup made of sugar loaf, orange peels and cinnamon sticks.



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Monday, February 06, 2006

The Hot Peppers of Peru: Ají­ panca

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The Hot Peppers of Peru: Ají mirasol

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The Hot Peppers of Peru: Ají­ amarillo

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The Hot Peppers of Peru: Rocoto

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Arequipa Cuisine at El Rocoto in Surco, Lima

El Rocoto
Avenida Aviación 4907
Higuereta, Surco, Lima
448-3040

Easy to reach by taxi in the Surco district of Lima is
El Rocoto. Named after the hot pepper of the same name, it serves flavorful dishes in the Arequipa style.


From the outside, it doesn't seem like much, but inside El Rocoto is very airy. There are excellent lunch buffets.






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Café Haiti

The pisco sours and lomo saltado at Café Haiti, in the main park of Miraflores, are classic.


Café Haiti is open from early morning until late in the evening, which makes it a great spot for people watching at any time.




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Sunday, February 05, 2006

The Pisco Sour












Click here to see more pictures of pisco sours.

Click here to learn how to make a proper Peruvian pisco sour.



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Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Excellent Website, Great Food: Restaurant Cebicherí­a Mi Propiedad Privada in San Miguel, Lima

I discover many interesting things as I conduct my research for this blog.

In my quest for excellent restaurants in Lima, but currently limited by the 6000 kilometers between here and there, I am contacting people I know and searching online for reviews and tips.

One gem of a webpage I've uncovered is for Restaurant Cebicherí­a Mi Propiedad Privada, in the middle-class San Miguel district of Lima.

Named after a much loved Peruvian waltz, I've since discovered that this restaurant has a very good reputation for the quality of its cuisine. I admit I haven't been there, but it is on my short-list for my next trip to Lima.


Their introduction page has a great video of Peruvian seafood cuisine backed by a coastal Afro-Peruvian rhythm. Once the video has loaded, click on the arrow.


Their home page, which you see by clicking Entrar en el website below the video, has good links.

Sugerencias del Chef has good pictures, as does their Carta page (along with their complete menu and cost, albeit in Spanish), and their Quienes Somos link has good photos of the interior.

And now for the good stuff.

Here is the link for the introduction with the video:


Video of Peruvian Food at Restaurant Cebicherí­a Mi Propiedad Privada.



Here is the link for the restaurant's home page:


Home Page of Restaurant Cebicherí­a Mi Propiedad Privada.



Just seeing all this makes my mouth water, how about you?




Restaurant Cebicherí­a
Mi Propiedad Privada

Calle César López Rojas 177,
next to the big Metro supermarket at block 25 of Avenida la Marina
Urbanización Maranga
San Miguel
452-5444



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La Canta Rana in Barranco

La Canta Rana
Pasaje Génova 101

Behind the police station, la Comisarí­a de Barranco, at the 500 block of Avenida Grau, entering via Colina, as you go towards the sea.

Thanks Mario for reminding me aboutLa Canta Rana.

Owned by Vicente Furgiuele, an Argentine who has lived in Peru for years,La Canta Rana, The Singing Frog, has been an institution in Barranco for over 20 years.

Among their signature dishes: calamari in a prawn and cheese sauce, seafood tacu tacu, grilled young octopus, shrimp or fish in garlic sauce, and different types of ceviches, among other seafood dishes.

They also serve pasta and steak.

Aside from the excellence of their food, there is a very friendly atmosphere at this restaurant.

It's a very good place to watch Argentina play.


Click here to see some other restaurants in and around Barranco.



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