PERU: THE COOKBOOK

The definitive Peruvian cookbook, featuring 500 traditional home cooking recipes from the country’s most acclaimed and popular chef, Gastón Acurio.

One of the world’s most innovative and flavorful cuisines, Peruvian food has been consistently heralded by chefs and media around the world as the “next big thing.” Peruvian restaurants are opening across the United States, with 20 in San Francisco alone, including Limon and La Mar.

Acurio guides cooks through the full range of Peru’s vibrant cuisine from popular classics like quinoa and ceviche, and lomo saltado to lesser known dishes like amaranth and aji amarillo. For the first time, audiences will be able to bring the flavors of one of the world’s most popular culinary destinations into their own kitchen.

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Sample Recipes >

CEVICHE CLÁSICO

CEVICHE CRIOLLO

16 CEVICHE 17

Classic Ceviche

Serves: 4Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Always use firm-fleshed white fish, without skin and bones, to prepare classic ceviche. Avoid oily or fatty varieties of fish.

4 × 6-oz (175-g) white fish fillets (such as sole, croaker, or grouper)

2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped2 teaspoons limo chile, choppedjuice of 20 small lemons1 teaspoon chopped culantro or cilantro

(coriander) leaves 2 or 3 ice cubes1 red onion, sliced into half-moon crescentssalt and pepper

To serve 1 corncob, cooked and kernels removed½ sweet potato, boiled and sliced

Serves: 4Preparation Time: 12 minutes

You can prepare this ceviche with the most inexpensive types of fish you can find, such as comber, mackerel, horse mackerel, or silverside fish.

1 × 1 lb 9¼-oz (720-g) or 4 × 6-oz (175-g) fillets fish (such as comber, mackerel, or silverside fish)

2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped2 teaspoons chopped limo chilejuice of 20 small lemons½ cup (4 fl oz/120 ml) Blended Yellow Chiles

(see p. 404)1 teaspoon chopped culantro or cilantro

(coriander) leaves2 or 3 ice cubes1 red onion, sliced into half-moon

crescents 4 tablespoons cancha (toasted corn),

plus extra to garnish (optional)salt and pepper

To serve1 corncob, cooked and kernels removed½ sweet potato, boiled and sliced

Cut the fish into ¾-inch/2-cm cubes, place in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper. After 1 minute, add the garlic and limo chile. Mix together well.

Pour over the lemon juice and add the chopped culantro or cilantro (coriander) leaves and ice cubes. Stir and let stand for a few seconds. Add the red onion and remove the ice cubes. Mix together and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Serve in a large shallow bowl with cooked corn kernels and boiled sweet potato slices.

Cut the fish into ¾-inch/2-cm cubes, place in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper. After 1 minute, add the garlic and limo chile. Mix together well.

Pour over the lemon juice and add the blended yellow chiles, culantro or cilantro (coriander) leaves, and ice cubes. Stir and let stand for a few seconds. Add the red onion and remove the ice cubes. Add the cancha, mix together, and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Serve in a large shallow bowl with cooked corn kernels and boiled sweet potato slices. You can also add a little extra cancha to garnish, if desired.

CLASSIC CEVICHE

CREOLE CEVICHE

SÁNGUCHE DE LECHÓN

SÁNGUCHE DE CHICHARRÓN

125

Pork Crackling Sandwich

124 STREET FOOD

Serves: 8Preparation Time: 8 minutes, plus 4 hours marinatingCooking Time: 2 hours

You can also use pork shoulder, rib, or loin to prepare these sandwiches.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil½ cup (4 fl oz/120 ml) Panca Chili Paste

(see p. 406)5 cloves garlic, very finely chopped 2½ teaspoons dried oregano2½ teaspoons ground cuminsalt and pepper1 x 5½-lb (2.5-kg) boned pork leg 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) white wine8 French bread rolls or any crusty rolls2 cups (18 fl oz/500 ml) Creole Sauce (see

p. 416)

Serves: 4Preparation Time: 5 minutes, plus soaking overnightCooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

These sandwiches can also be made with country bread, ciabatta, or baguette. They all work wonderfully.

1 x 4½-lb (2-kg) pork side (belly)1 cup (11 oz/300 g) salt5 cups (2¼ lb/1 kg) lard4 cloves garlic2 sweet potatoes, sliced4 cups (34 fl oz/1 liter) vegetable oil4 French bread rolls or any crusty rolls1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) Creole Sauce

(see p. 416)

To serve¼ red onion, thinly sliced½ red chile, thinly slicedhandful cilantro (coriander), leaves picked

Put the oil in a bowl with the chili paste, garlic, oregano, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper and mix together well.

Wash and dry the pork leg thoroughly. Coat the leg with the chili mixture and set aside to marinate for 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C/Gas Mark 2.

Transfer the pork leg to a roasting pan. Pour over ½ cup (4 fl oz/120 ml) water and cook in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Mix the white wine with 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) water, pour over the pork, and continue to cook for another hour until golden and cooked through.

Remove the pork from the oven and let cool. Carve the meat into thick slices and set aside.

Slice the bread rolls lengthwise down the middle and fill with the pork slices and Creole sauce. Serve.

Put the pork side (belly) in a large bowl with the salt, cover with water, and let soak for 8 hours, or overnight. Once soaked, remove the pork from the water and rinse well. Drain and cut into 2 x 1¾-inch/5 x 4-cm pieces.

Put the lard into a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat to melt. Once melted, add the whole garlic cloves and pork pieces, lower the heat, and cook gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn up the heat and cook for another 25 minutes, until the meat has browned and the fat is crisp and golden. Set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan or deep fryer to 350°F/180°C, or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Drop the sweet potato slices carefully into the hot oil and cook for 5 minutes, or until crispy and golden. Drain well on paper towels.

Slice the bread rolls lengthwise down the middle and fill with the fried sweet potato slices, pork pieces, and Creole sauce, onion, chile, and cilantro (coriander). Serve.

PORK SANDWICH

PORK CRACKLING SANDWICH

CHOCOTEJAS DE MANJAR CON PECANAS Y PASAS

342 DESSERTS & SWEETS 343

Makes: 80 candies (sweets)Preparation Time: 1 hour 40 minutes, plus 7 days infusing and 3–4 minutes chilling Cooking Time: 10 minutes

pisco-infused raisinsscant 1½ cups (7 oz/200 g) raisins 1¼ cups (8 fl oz/300 ml) pisco Ganache½ cup (4 fl oz/120 ml) heavy (double) cream 13½ oz (390 g) bitter dark chocolate,

broken into small pieces½ cup (4 oz/120 g) unsalted butter,

cut into cubes2½ tablespoons vanilla extract

Outer layer and filling3¼ lb (1.5 kg) dark chocolate couverture2 cups (1 lb 2 oz/500 g) Dulce de Leche

(see p. 414)40 large pecans, shelled

To prepare the pisco-infused raisins, wash the raisins thoroughly, drain, and place in a glass jar. Pour in the pisco and let infuse for at least 7 days. Once infused, strain, transfer to a suitable container, and keep refrigerated until needed.

To make the ganache, put the cream in a pan and warm over low heat. Melt the bitter dark chocolate separately in a bain-marie, add to the cream, and mix together. Add the butter and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly. Cool and refrigerate until needed.

To make the outer shell of the candies (sweets), melt the dark chocolate couverture in a bain-marie or in the microwave. Once melted, pour into a chocoteja mold (or small candy mold), gently tapping the mold on the table to eliminate any air bubbles that may have formed.

Turn the mold upside down to drain out, and reserve, any excess chocolate, tapping it gently. Refrigerate for 3–4 minutes so that the chocolate shells solidify.

Mix the dulce de leche together with the drained pisco-infused raisins in a bowl.

Remove the chocolate-coated mold from the refrigerator and fill each individual mold with a little of the dulce de leche and raisin mixture. Place half a pecan inside each one and add a little of the ganache. Refrigerate until firm.

Remove the chocolate candies from the refrigerator, still in their mold, and cover each one with some of the reserved melted dark chocolate couverture, smoothing the bases with a spatula. Refrigerate once again so that the outer layer solidifies. Remove the candies from the mold by lightly tapping it. Keep refrigerated until serving.

DARK CHOCOLATE CANDIES FILLED WITH DULCE DE LECHE, PECANS, AND RAISINS

Dark Chocolate Candies Filled with Dulce de Leche, Pecans, and Raisins

LUCURRUBINA

PISCO SOUR

QUÉ BUENOS MANGOS

397

Pisco Sour

396 DRINKS

Serves: 1Preparation Time: 5 minutes

1 tablespoon pisco, infused with dried fruits 3 tablespoons rum cream2 tablespoons carob syrup2 oz (50 g) lucuma fruit, chopped2 tablespoons condensed milk10 ice cubescarob syrup, for decorationpinch of ground cinnamon, for decoration

Serves: 1Preparation Time: 5 minutes

15 ice cubes6 tablespoons Quebranta pisco 2 tablespoons lemon juice2 tablespoons sugar syrup1 tablespoon egg white2 drops Angostura bitters, to finish

Serves: 1Preparation Time: 5 minutes

4 tablespoons Quebranta pisco 6 tablespoons mango juice4 tablespoons pineapple syrup15 ice cubes 1 strawberry, sliced, to garnish

Put the fruit-infused pisco, rum cream, carob syrup, lucuma fruit, and condensed milk into a blender with 4 ice cubes. Blend for a few seconds, then pour into a cocktail shaker and add the remaining 6 ice cubes. Shake together for 6 seconds.

Trickle a little carob syrup around the sides of a tall glass for a marbled effect. Strain in the drink and sprinkle with a pinch of ground cinnamon to finish.

Place the ice in a blender or cocktail shaker and pour in the liquid ingredients. Blend for 3 seconds or shake for 8, then strain into a chilled stemless cocktail glass. Drop the Angostura bitters in the center of the drink to finish.

Shake all the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with the ice for 10 seconds, then strain into a chilled large cocktail glass. Garnish with the sliced strawberry.

PISCO, RUM, AND CAROB SYRUP COCKTAIL

PISCO SOUR

PISCO AND MANGO COCKTAIL