Category: recipe (page 6 of 11)

February 28, 2017 / 0 Comments

Recipe: Peruvian Style Cilantro Beef Stew | Video

Hello friends! I am very happy to be writing on the blog again and bringing you this recipe for a simple Peruvian Style Cilantro Beef Stew, known in Perú as “seco” stew. I am most fond of this dish because I made it a lot during my 2016 sabbatical, when I was away from home and feeling homesick for peruvian food. Making it for someone special encouraged me to repeat it every week. When you try it, you may notice the rich aroma of cilantro will make you hungry 😍. Español aquí.

“Seco”, which means dry in Spanish, is known as such for its dry consistency and is a cilantro stew that in Peru is made with chicken, beef, duck, lamb and any other meat. The origin of Peruvian seco stew seems to be Arab and introduced in Peru by Spain, during the colonial period. Spain incorporated Arabian ingredients and spices into their gastronomy, and thus influenced our way of cooking with them too.

This recipe is based on my beloved Nicolini recipe book and is a simple version. I mention this because seco stew is a well loved dish in Peru and makes some of us very sensitive about how it’s made. There are many more elaborate versions that include beer, chicha de jora, and other delicious ingredients. However I would like to keep it simple and leave you with this recipe that I assure you that you can make regardless of wherever you are in the world,with the exception of the Peruvian chili which is optional and can be found in a Latin American supermarket. I hope you like!

Sorry for the video quality this week. I use a Nexus smartphone and I am having to difficulties for getting around the sun here in Lima…

Ingredients
½ kilo of beef – I used beef tenderloin steak
1 cup of onion, minced or pressed
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 cup of cilantro leaves, washed

1 cup water (for the cilantro)
2-3 potatoes, washed or peeled
1 cup of carrots, chopped in small squares
1 cup of peas
Peruvian yellow pepper, seedless, to taste – I used half a pepper
Oil
Cumin
Pepper
Salt

Preparation
Add salt, pepper and cumin to the beef.

Heat an oiled pot.

Fry the beef on both sides.

Set it aside.

Blend the cilantro and water.

Brown the onion and garlic in the same pot. Add Peruvian yellow pepper (optional).

Add the cilantro and the vegetables

Add the potatoes and the beef.

Cook for about 30 minutes. You may add small amounts of water if you notice it drying up too much and to have more sauce.

En Peru seco is served with cooked potatoes and rice. I hope you enjoy!

Serves 3 to 4 people

February 15, 2017 / 0 Comments

Recipe: Peruvian style wonton cheese fingers | Easy to make

Hello. I am really excited to share today’s recipe with you for one of my favorite Peruvian finger foods. I am referring to Peruvian style wonton (or wanton) cheese fingers or what we call “tequeños”. Personally I love them, in fact I have no self control when they are close to me. I also have a small surprise for you in the recipe video. I am very nervous about it and I really hope you like the recipe. Español aquí.

A funny thing about these cheesy treats is that although they are very popular throughout Latin America, they originate from Venezuela. Apparently they were invented in Los Teques, at the vacation home of the affluent families from Caracas. For us is a very common finger food you can have while entertaining guests, although they are also enjoyed as entrees. Either way you have them, they are delicious!

Ingredients
200 grs. of fresh white cow cheese or any other cheese that melts
250 grs. of wonton pasta – I used a pack of 500 grs.of wanton pasta
Oil
01 scrambled egg

Preparation
Cut the cheese into slices. Place the cheese in the center of a wonton.

Moisten the edges with the egg. Roll it up. It is recommended not to close the tips so that it cooks better.

Repeat.

Heat a pan with oil. Place in the pan.

Let it brown and flip over.

Repeat.

Serve with a sauce. It goes very well with guacamole or Peruvian Huancaina sauce.

Serves 4 people a finger food.

February 6, 2017 / 0 Comments

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds | Easy to Make | Video

This week’s post a little outdated since I have been keeping it since October 🙊, but I really want to share it because it is very easy to make. I am referring to toasted or roasted pumpkin (or squash) seeds, which I made from the leftovers of my Halloween pumpkins. Español aquí.

As you may suspect, pumpkins are native to North America and therefore difficult to find in Peru. However, I propose an alternative for my friends in Lima, use squash seeds. As they are both from the same family, they make a delicious and healthy snack. They are known to be a source for protein, zinc, and magnesium.

Now that I am spending more time at home I am thinking about making this again because I’m always hungry. Does it happen to you? Next time I hear the ice cream man I will be ready to jump out of the window.

A video posted by Much’a Ale (@muchaale) on Oct 30, 2016 at 8:33pm PDT

Here are my pumkins…

Ingredients
Seeds from one or more pumpkins – Wash them well with water and let them dry off

Oil and sat

Preparation
Oil a dish. Place the seeds on the dish. Flatten down.

Place in a preheated oven at 400°F. Cook until golden.

Add salt and other spices.

I hope you enjoy!

January 30, 2017 / 0 Comments

Recipe: Peruvian style fish escabeche | Video

I am very happy to greet you and share my first post for 2017. My sabbatical came to an end in December and I am back in Lima. I took a small break at the start of the year while I resolved some personal issues (looked for a job), but I am back because I missed sharing these posts.

Peruvian style fish escabeche

This post is based on Fish Escabeche from Nicolini’s recipe book and it was prepared with Peruvian paiche fish. Escabeche originates from Spain and has expanded throughout the world, with a strong presence in Mediterranean and Latin American food. Most of its variations consist of meat which has been marinated and cooked with vinegar, and seasoned with peppers. In Peru, Escabeche is a staple during Easter, due to the catholic custom of eating fish in that holiday. It is also prepared with chicken.

Ingredients
½ cup of vinegar
2 large onions in wedges
2 Peruvian peppers in slices
1kg / ½ lb to ½ kilo / ¼ lb of fish in large cuts – we use Paiche
4 ground mirasol peppers
2 garlic cloves, minced or ground
Flour
Oil
Lettuce leaves, washed – we use arugula
Sweet potato, cooked
Eggs, boiled, in halves or pieces
Olives, without seeds
Salt, pepper and cumin, to taste

Preparation
Bring the vinegar, onion and Peruvian pepper together in a bowl. Agregar la hierbabuena, la sal, la pimienta y el comino. Dejar reposar por 1 hora o más.

Wash and dry the fish. Salt and pepper, and cover with flower.

Fry in hot oil. Set aside.

Cook the garlic and mirasol pepper in oil. Add the vinegar, onion and Peruvian pepper.

Boil once. Echar la salsa de cebolla sobre el pescado

Garnish with eggs and olives. Serve over lettuce and with sweet potato. It is recommended to keep this in the refrigerator overnight or for longer.

Garnish with eggs and olives

Serves 4 to 6 people, depending on the amount of fish.

December 21, 2016 / 0 Comments

Recipe: My first baked turkey | Video

“The first time I baked a turkey” was supposed to be on Thanksgiving, in November, but it was delayed. There was a lot of anticipation because the supermarket clerk sold us on the idea (and the turkey) that it would sell out. We did not count on being invited to a Thanksgiving dinner in another city. But the bird still got what was coming to it and I made it during the first week of December.

Pavo al horno

What I learned about making a turkey is that you need patience and strength (because it weighs a lot). I began by thanking the turkey for its sacrifice and also toasting with myself to it tasting good. A little bird recommend to me to have a drink while preparing the turkey. Listening to music also helps.

Coming back to the recipe, it is based on the Baked Christmas Turkey entry from my Nicolini cookbook. With all the recipes online, this is a good one for beginners. The outcome was a turkey with a nice flavor and the gravy was like a vegetable cream.

I hope you like it! Happy holidays!

Before you begin
– You can thaw the turkey by soaking it overnight in salted water. After that, keep in in the refrigerator and don’t remove the wrapping until you are ready to cook.
– The baking time depends on the weight of the turkey and if it has stuffing. The turkey I used was 13 lb / 5.8 kg and stuffed, and took 4.5 hours to cook. I used the guide here.
– You can check if the turkey is ready with a baking thermometer or by making small cuts. If you are using a thermometer, the turkey will be ready when the leg temperature is 165 ° F. If you are not using one, the turkey will be ready when the juice that comes from cuts between the chest and leg don’t contain blood and are colorless.
– A lot of recipes recommend using a rack over your tray. You can make one by twisting aluminum into tubes and cross them over the tray.

Rejilla hecha con papel aluminio

– I followed a video from Real Simple for how to carve the turkey. They recommend to remove the wings, legs, and chest (on both sides), and then slicing and / or removing the meat from these pieces. The video is very illustrative.

Ingredients
1 medium turkey, thawed – turkey used was 13 lb / 5.9 kg
3 onions, in slices
4 celery sticks, diced
1 leek, in slices
2 peppers, in slices
150 grs of butter
4 tablespoons of Italian parsley, chopped
4 tablespoons of fresh rosemary – if you don’t have fresh, it can also be dried
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme – if you don’t have fresh, it can also be dried
1 whole garlic, peeled and minced
4 cups of chicken broth – I prepared it by boiling 5 cups water, 1/2 chicken breast, turkey neck, 1 stick celery, and salt
Salt and ground pepper
Stuffing – Some people use bread and vegetables. I used Rice with Noodles and Fungi
2 tablespoons of cornstarch or other starch – to give the gravy consistency

Tools
1 tray
Aluminum foil
Cooking string
Turkey baster

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

Consider having one drink while you cook

Place the onion, celery, leeks, and pepper on the tray.

Onion, celery, leeks and pepper in the tray

Clean the turkey with water, just as you would with chicken or meat. Remove the neck and giblets, if needed. Cover generously with salt and ground pepper.

Place the turkey over the tray with the chest facing up. Tie the legs together with the string.

Melt the butter and mix it in with the herbs and garlic. Spread the mixture over the turkey. Add the filling of your choice inside the turkey. Pour the chicken broth over turkey.

Cover the tray with foil.

Cover with foil

Place in the oven and cook for the required period. Remove the aluminum cover 45 minutes before you finish cooking so that it can brown.

When ready, turn off the oven and let cool for 20 minutes, minimum.

Carefully remove the source from the oven. With the help of the turkey syringe, remove the juice from the source and separate into a bowl. With the help of a carving (s) or other tool (s) remove the turkey to rescue the vegetables on which it was cooked. I used a cord to lift the turkey. Remove the vegetables from the source and separate into a bowl. With a spoon can remove the rice from the inside of the turkey and separate into another bowl.

Remove the stuffing, juice, and vegetables

Gravy
Blend the vegetables. Achieve the desired consistency.

Mix 2 cups of juice and cornstarch. Add the vegetables.

Bring to a boil.

Cook for 5 to 10 minutes

Sorry I didn’t have that many photos at the end. My hands were very dirty (from food).

Enjoy!

Serves a family of 10 to 15 people. Enjoy!