How To Cook Picarones?: Peruvian Desserts... Peruvian Recipes!!!

PICARONES

Ingredients : 8- 10 servings

• 1lb (½ k) sweet potatoes, peeled

• 1lb (½ k) squash, peeled

• 1lb (½ k) flour

• 3 tablespoons fresh yeast

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 4 cloves

• 2 tablespoons aniseed

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 2 eggs slightly beaten

• Oil, necessary amount for frying

Syrup:

• 2 cups dark sugar

• 2 cups white sugar

• 4 cloves

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 2 allspice

• Peel of 1 orange, cut into thick large strips

• 4 cups water

Preparation:

Fill water in a large pan with cinnamon, clove and aniseed. Boil for 10 minutes, approximately and strain reserving water. Cook sweet potatoes and squash in the reserved water until tender. Remove from pan and force through a strainer. Reserve 2 cups of cooking liquid. Allow to cool.

In a small size bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and reserved cooking liquid. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Place strained sweet potatoes and squash in a large bowl. Add salt, yeast mixture and eggs. Stir vigorously until combined. Fold in flour and continue stirring until a soft and smooth and elastic dough is formed. Dough will not stick to fingers. Cover with a damp cloth and leave dough to rise for 1 hour or until mixture doubles its volume.

Heat oil in a large skillet until hot. Take a small quantity of dough and form a ring. Fry in hot oil until golden on both sides. Repeat the procedure until all dough is used. Wet hands in salted water frequently to make dough rings more manageable.

Remove picarones from hot oil and drain in kitchen paper.

Serve immediately with syrup, (3 per serving).

Syrup:
Combine sugar, clove, cinnamon, orange peel, allspice and water in a medium size saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat until mixture thickens to a syrup (200 °F – 110 °C). This process will take approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve picarones with this syrup.

How To Cook Bavarois de Lucuma/ Lucuma Bavarois?: Peruvian Recipes

BAVAROIS DE LUCUMA / Lucuma Bavarois

Ingredients : 6 – 8 servings

• 2 tablespoons unflavored gelatine

• 6 lúcumas, peeled and cut in pieces

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 4 eggs

• ¼ cup water

• 1 cup undiluted evaporated milk

• 1 cup sugar

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Blend or process lucumas until soft and smooth. Force through a fine sieve and set aside.

Whip egg whites until foamy, add ½ cup sugar and continue beating until thick.

Beat cream until thick as for chantilly.

Soften gelatine in water and heat until dissolved. Add sugar and combine.

Add warm gelatine to lucuma mixture. Fold in egg whites, carefully.

Fold in whipped heavy cream and vanilla extract.

Lightly oil a tube cake pan and pour in preparation. Refrigerate until firm.

To unmold run a knife around the edge and invert mold onto serving plate.

Optional: Serve bavarois with Pastry Cream.

Fresh lucuma substitution:
2 pounds of fresh lucuma = 4 tablespoons dehydrated lucuma powder.
Soak lucuma powder in the same quantity of liquid 2 or 3 hours before using it. Stir. It will have the consistency of a puree.

How to Cook Tamalitos Verdes/ Green Tamales?: Peruvian food... Peruvian Recipes!!!

TAMALITOS VERDES 1 / Green Tamales 1

Ingredients : 8 tamales

• 8 corns

• 2/3 cup (11 tablespoons) shortening

• 1 medium size onion, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• Ají amarillo fresco / fresh yellow aji (chili), blended

• Salt

• Pepper

• 4 oz (½ cup) blended cilantro

• Corn husks, washed and dried

• 5 oz (130 g) chicken meat

• 5 oz (130 g) pork meat

• 10 black olives, seeded and cut in 4

• 2 eggs, hardboiled

• Salsa Criolla - Onion Creole Sauce

Preparation:

Place chicken and pork meat in separate pans, cover with salted water and cook until tender. Cut meat into small pieces.

Melt shortening in a pan and fry chicken and pork pieces until golden. Remove and set aside.

Brown onions, garlic and aji / chili in same fat. Season and separate 1/3 of mixture for filling. Add meats, hardboiled eggs and olives to this mixture.

Cut kernels from cobs. Blend kernels with enough water or chicken stock to obtain a thick cream. Add cilantro.

Add corn to onion mixture in pan and cook, stirring, at medium heat until thick and shiny. Add more water or stock if necessary.

Place one or two overlapping husks in palm of one hand. Spoon 1 ½ tablespoons of corn mixture spreading slightly. Place 2 teaspoons filling on the center and cover with corn mixture. Wrap corn husks to enclose tamal. Tie with string.

Place tamales in pan with 2 inches of water and cook for 20 minutes.

Peel back the corn husks and serve with salsa criolla - onion creole sauce.

How to cook Arroz con Camarones/ Shrimp Rice?: Peruvian Food!!!

ARROZ CON CAMARONES / Shrimp Rice
Ingredients : 10 Servings

• 2.2 lb (1 k) shrimp

• 4 cups rice

• ½ cup white wine

• ½ cup beer

• 13 garlic cloves, mashed

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 3 tablespoons ají panca / sundried red aji (chili) paste

• 2 tablepoons paprika

• 1.1 lb (½ k) green peas

• 5 ají amarillo fresco / fresh yellow aji seeded, deveined, minced

• 4 sweet bell peppers, finely chopped

• Vegetable oil

• Salt

• Minced parsley

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:

Sauté 3 crushed garlic cloves with 2 tablespoons oil until golden in a medium size pan. Add 4 cups water, cover pan, bring to a boil and add rice. Cover pan.

Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, over moderate heat, or until rice is done. Add 1 tablespoon oil on top and mix the upper part of rice with a fork. Keep covered for 10 minutes. Cool.

Clean and devein shrimp. Separate corals and tails.

Boil water with salt in a large pan, add shrimp tails and cook for 2 minutes until they turn pink. Drain and reserve shrimp.

Sauté rest of crushed garlic cloves, onion, bell peppers, sundried red aji paste, paprika, fresh yellow aji, salt and pepper in a large frying pan.

Add beer and shrimp corals, boil a few minutes. Add white wine and cooked rice. Carefully stir, until rice gets a uniform color.

Continue cooking for a few minutes until rice dries and grains separate.

Serve on a platter. Decorate with peas, shrimp tails and finely chopped parsley.