Petite blog for Peruvian wellbeing

Category: peruvian food (page 6 of 8)

Recipe: Peruvian fried rice and beans | Tacu Tacu | Easy to Make | Video

Hello all! I hope you had a very nice week. Last week I was still in New York. Right now I’m feeling a little guilty because I did not go to the gym all week, although I did some exercise from home using elastic bands. No need to film that.

Tacu tacu



To get back on track, I am very happy to share this week’s recipe for a Peruvian Tacu Tacu. After several failed attempts, I have learned to make it and I will share how in today’s post.

For my non-Peruvian friend, tacu tacu is a fried mixture of rice and legumes, commonly beans although it can also be lima beans or others. They originate from our Afro-Peruvian ancestors, and the name comes from the Quechua word “Tikuy”, meaning “to mix one thing with another”. This, according to the Dictionary of traditional Peruvian cuisine.

But we are not the only ones who like to mix up our rice with beans. There are similar dishes all over the world, like Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, among others.

Ingredients
2 cups of cooked beans or other legumes – here is a recipe for Peruvian Style Beans
2 cups cooked rice
½ cup finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon of Peruvian pepper (optional) – this can be yellow or pancha chili
Oil

Preparation
Bring the beans and rice together in a bowl. Let sit.


Sauté the onion and garlic in an oiled pan. Optionally add the Peruvian pepper to the pan.


Add the bean mix to the skillet and combine.


Reduce the temperature and let it brown. You can move the pan back and forth, with quick movements so that the they form one mass.

The tacu tacu can be decorated with chopped cilantro leaves, and served with a meat and vegetables. It goes very well with Peruvian Sauteed Chicken or Beef, fried steak, or seco stew.

Tacu tacu con pollo saltado

Serves 2-3 people.

Recipe: Peruvian style beans | Easy to make | Video

How was your week? I hope it was excellent. Mine was great, with a typical Thanksgiving dinner in New York and a visit to my family in New Jersey. So much food inspired me to think of more food, and to bring you this easy to make recipe for preparing Peruvian Style Beans.

Peruvian style beans



When I talk about of Peruvian style beans, I am referring to the yellow beans that are known as “canary” or “Peruvian” beans. Although very popular in Peru, a trivia fact is that these beans are actually from Mexico.

Beans are pretty much a meal on their own, as they contain carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. If you want to avoid the gassy side effects, don’t forget to soak them and discarding the water in which they were soaked, as it absorbs the properties that causes them.

Another bonus point for beans is that it keeps well in the refrigerator, where it can be stored for up to five days. It also tastes better when it is reheated and refried with rice for a Peruvian Tacu Tacu dish (recipe coming soon).

Ingredientes
2 cups of canary beans
1 red onion – used as ½ whole and ½ finely chopped or liquefied
100 grs. Pork (optional) – can be a slice of bacon
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
Oil
Salt to taste

Preparation
Soak the beans in abundant water since the night before. The next day, drain it.


Cook the beans in more abundant water, until the beans are soft. Use a large pot and check constantly so that they are always covered by water, and the beans do not burn.

Cook in abundant water

I recommend adding ½ onion (trick # 01) and a piece of pork (trick # 02) while you cook to give it a rich flavor. The onion will dissolve and you can remove the pork after the beans are cooked.


Depending on the consistency you prefer, you can blend the cooked beans and onions for a mashed style. If you prefer them solids, you can remove the onion and continue cooking them as they are. I really like mashed beans so I always blend them.

Brown the minced onion and garlic in an oiled pot. Add the beans and cook on them low heat for about 30 minutes, adding small amounts of water to avoid drying.


Decorate with minced cilantro leaves, and serve with meat and rice. It is goes very well with Peruvian sauteed chicken or beef.

Garnish with cilantro, and serve with white rice

Serves 4 people.

Recipe: Peruvian Style Pesto Spaghetti | Easy to Make | Video

In Peru, pesto is traditionally prepared with a soft unaged white cheese known as “queso fresco”. My Peruvian friends would say, “I know what queso fresco is Alessandra”. But I’m really stuck on this ingredient because it’s hard for me to find right now that I’m abroad.

Tallarines verdes de queso parmesano


I was missing my mom’s pesto spaghetti and thinking about making the sauce with feta cheese, which can be roughly described as a white sheep cheese of greek origin, when I was recommended to use Parmesan cheese. It is more common to find parmesan cheese in the part of the world where I am currently so to me this was an excellent idea.

A trivia fact I didn’t know about this green sauce known as “pesto” is that it originates in the Genoa city in Italy, and that traditionally it is made with Parmesan cheese! Among other ingredients, of course. Did you know that the term pesto originates from the Genovese verb “pestâ”, which means to crush or ground? These were times without blenders, when the sauce was prepared in a mortar.

Oh! This sauce keeps well in the refrigerator, preferably if you freeze it after blending it and before cooking it. A useful tip I found online is to freeze the sauce in ice trays so you can access it more easily when needed.

Ingredients
Sauce
2 cups spinach leaves – packed
⅔ cup basil leaves – packed
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup toasted walnuts – can be toasted lightly in a pan without oil before use
½ cup olive oil
½ water, approx.
4 cloves garlic, peeled
Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta
1 lb. / 500 g. pasta – noodles, ravioli, or other.
Bay leaf, oil, and salt to taste – optional

Preparation
Sauce
In a blender, mix everything, helping yourself with the oil and water to achieve a medium consistency. Not too stiff and not too watery.


Cook the sauce briefly in a lightly oiled pot or pan.

Pasta
In a large saucepan, bring water, with a little oil, one bay leaf and salt, to a boil. When the water boils add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes, approx.


Drain and return to the pot for mixing with the sauce.

Colar los fideos y mezclar con la salsa

Serve the pasta mixed with the pesto, and accompany with meat and cooked vegetables. In Peru it is common to use linguini pasta, and serve with a fried beef steak and cooked potatoes slices that have been lightly browned in a pan. We love our carbs.

Serves 4-5 people.

Recipe: Peruvian dried potato and meat stew | Video

Criollo Halloween is here! This is Halloween + Creole Song Day (Aka Día de la Canción Criolla), which also falls on October 31 and is a Peruvian holiday to celebrate our Creole culture. This is why this week’s recipe is dedicated to Carapulcra, a stew of dried potatoes and meat, heavily seasoned with chilies and spices. A trivia fact about Carapulcra, did you know it is the oldest Peruvian dish in history? Español aquí.

Carapulcra de tres carnes

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