peru: the cookbook

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.
Save 30% until 27th May with coupon code: GASTON
Sample Recipes >
Serves: 4
Preparation 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 chopped
2 teaspoons limo chile, chopped
juice of 20 small lemons
1 teaspoon chopped culantro or cilantro
(coriander) leaves
2 or 3 ice cubes
1 red onion, sliced into half-moon crescents
salt and pepper
To serve
1 corncob, cooked and kernels removed
½ sweet potato, boiled and sliced
Serves: 4
Preparation 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 chopped
2 teaspoons chopped limo chile
juice of 20 small lemons
½ cup (4 fl oz/120 ml) Blended Yellow Chiles
(see p. 404)
1 teaspoon chopped culantro or cilantro
(coriander) leaves
2 or 3 ice cubes
1 red onion, sliced into half-moon
crescents
4 tablespoons cancha (toasted corn),
plus extra to garnish (optional)
salt and pepper
CEVICHE CLÁSICO
CLASSIC CEVICHE
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.
C E V I C H E C R I O L LO
CREOLE CEVICHE
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.
To serve
1 corncob, cooked and kernels removed
½ sweet potato, boiled and sliced
Classic Ceviche
16
CEVICHE
17
Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 5 minutes, plus
soaking overnight
Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
SÁ N G U C H E D E C H I C H A R R Ó N
P O R K C R AC K L I N G SA N DW I C H
These sandwiches can also be made
with country bread, ciabatta, or baguette.
They all work wonderfully.
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.
1 x 4½-lb (2-kg) pork side (belly)
1 cup (11 oz/300 g) salt
5 cups (2¼ lb/1 kg) lard
4 cloves garlic
2 sweet potatoes, sliced
4 cups (34 fl oz/1 liter) vegetable oil
4 French bread rolls or any crusty rolls
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) Creole Sauce
(see p. 416)
To serve
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
½ red chile, thinly sliced
handful cilantro (coriander), leaves picked
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.
Serves: 8
Preparation Time: 8 minutes, plus
4 hours marinating
Cooking Time: 2 hours
SÁ N G U C H E D E L E C H Ó N
P O R K SA N DW I C H
You can also use pork shoulder, rib,
or loin to prepare these sandwiches.
Put the oil in a bowl with the chili paste, garlic,
oregano, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper
and mix together well.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ cup (4 fl oz/120 ml) Panca Chili Paste
(see p. 406)
5 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
2½ teaspoons dried oregano
2½ teaspoons ground cumin
salt and pepper
1 x 5½-lb (2.5-kg) boned pork leg
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) white wine
8 French bread rolls or any crusty rolls
2 cups (18 fl oz/500 ml) Creole Sauce (see
p. 416)
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.
Pork Crackling Sandwich
124
STREET FOOD
125
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 raisins
scant 1½ cups (7 oz/200 g) raisins
1¼ cups (8 fl oz/300 ml) pisco
Ganache
½ cup (4 fl oz/120 ml) heavy (double) cream
13½ oz (390 g) bitter dark chocolate,
broken into small pieces
½ cup (4 oz/120 g) unsalted butter,
cut into cubes
2½ tablespoons vanilla extract
Outer layer and filling
3¼ lb (1.5 kg) dark chocolate couverture
2 cups (1 lb 2 oz/500 g) Dulce de Leche
(see p. 414)
40 large pecans, shelled
C H O C OT EJA S D E M A N JA R C O N
P E CA N A S Y PA SA S
DA R K C H O C O L AT E CA N D I E S F I L L E D
W I T H D U LC E D E L E C H E , P E CA N S,
AND RAISINS
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
342
DESSERTS & SWEETS
343
Serves: 1
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
1 tablespoon pisco, infused with dried fruits
3 tablespoons rum cream
2 tablespoons carob syrup
2 oz (50 g) lucuma fruit, chopped
2 tablespoons condensed milk
10 ice cubes
carob syrup, for decoration
pinch of ground cinnamon, for decoration
LU C U R R U B I N A
P I S C O, R U M , A N D CA R O B SY R U P
C O C K TA I L
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.
Serves: 1
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
15 ice cubes
6 tablespoons Quebranta pisco
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar syrup
1 tablespoon egg white
2 drops Angostura bitters, to finish
Serves: 1
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
4 tablespoons Quebranta pisco
6 tablespoons mango juice
4 tablespoons pineapple syrup
15 ice cubes
1 strawberry, sliced, to garnish
PISCO SOUR
PISCO SOUR
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.
QUÉ BUENOS MANGOS
P I S C O A N D M A N G O C O C K TA I L
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 Sour
396
DRINKS
397