The delicious taste of the Andes

The food was exotic yet familiar, complex yet comforting…

By: Pat Tanner
   I am sometimes guilty, as a cook, of focusing on costly or exotic ingredients from distant shores, especially Europe and Asia, while overlooking equally intriguing ingredients from closer to home.
   I was reminded of this recently when our Central New Jersey Slow Food group dined at Cuzco Peruvian Restaurant in South River. The two-year-old restaurant is owned and run by two generations of the Ciuffardi family who hail from Cuzco and who have lived in South River for 20 years. Elzio and Lucy Ciuffardi are assisted by their son, also Elzio, daughter Anabell, and her husband, Alfredo Teixeira.
   For our dinner, the family created a delicious, authentic, three-course feast of dishes drawn from all regions of Peru. The food was exotic yet familiar, complex yet comforting, and featured such traditional ingredients as quinoa, dried potatoes, giant kernels of Peruvian corn (both fresh and dried), fermented corn juice and several kinds of Peruvian hot peppers. We learned that Peruvian cuisine is one of the most diverse in the world, drawing not only on its ancient roots — from pre-Incan and Incan heritage to Spanish and African — but on more recent immigration patterns, including Cantonese, Japanese and Italian.
   The potato originated in the Andes, so it is fitting that Peru now produces more than 4,000 varieties and supplies 65 percent of the world’s crop.
   Anabell Teixeira informed us that Peru is home to more species of fish, both freshwater and saltwater, than any other country. Our dinner included a fish escabeche from Lima and a traditional ceviche made with sole marinated in lime juice with a touch of chile.
   From among Peru’s 250 traditional desserts, the Ciuffardi-Teixeira family served ice cream made from lucuma, a tropical fruit that grows at an elevation of 10,000 feet, and warm rice pudding topped with mazamorra morada, a jelly made from purple corn and dried apples.
   Below are two recipes that are meals in themselves; both were big hits with our Slow Food group and make ideal winter dinners.
   Aji de Gallina, a classic dish of Chiclayo, features shredded chicken enrobed in a creamy sauce flavored with nuts and yellow chile paste. Like many Peruvian dishes it is customarily served with both potatoes and white rice.
   Seco de Cordero, a sprightly flavored lamb stew, likewise incorporates starches and is served with more on the side.
   The special Peruvian ingredients, such as the chile pastes and the fermented corn juice, are worth seeking out, but in a pinch the latter can be replaced with an extra cup of beer and the former with bottled hot sauce or even dried red pepper flakes. Be sure to adjust quantities of all the hot stuff to your taste.
   My recommendation for obtaining the Peruvian staples would be to call ahead to Anabell Teixeira at Cuzco, make a lunch or dinner reservation, and pick up your purchases after a fine Peruvian meal.
   Cuzco Peruvian Restaurant is at 56 Main Street, South River. Phone: (732) 238-8882. www.cuzcorestaurant.com.
AJI DE GALLINA
(Chicken in Creamy Nut Sauce)
   1 large chicken
   1 bay leaf
   1 carrot
   1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
   ½ cup vegetable oil
   8 finely chopped cloves of garlic
   2 red onions, coarsely chopped
   4 tablespoons aji panca paste (Peruvian red pepper paste)*
   6 slices bread soaked in milk (approximately ¾ cup)
   ½ cup chicken broth (can use water from boiling the chicken)
   Salt & pepper to taste
   2 tablespoons ground pecans
   3 hard-boiled eggs, halved lengthwise
   10 pitted black olives, preferably Peruvian
   2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
   Chopped parsley
   Suggested accompaniments: sliced boiled potatoes and white rice.

  1. Place chicken in a large pot with the bay leaf, carrot, and salt. Cover with hot water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pan, let it cool, and shred chicken, discarding bones and skin.
  2. In a separate pan sauté garlic, onions and aji panca until onion is soft but not colored. Stir in the milk-soaked bread, then add chicken broth and heat through. If mixture seems dry, add a little more milk. Add the shredded chicken, salt, pepper, and ground pecans. Garnish with hard boiled eggs and olives. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve warm with sliced boiled potatoes and white rice, if desired.

   Serves 6 to 8.
SECO DE CORDERO
(Lamb Stew with Cilantro)
   ½ cup vegetable oil
   4½ pounds lamb for stewing, cut into medium-size pieces
   2 large red onions, finely chopped
   1 tablespoon chopped garlic
   1 teaspoon aji amarillo paste (Peruvian yellow hot pepper paste)*
   Dash of cumin
   1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
   1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
   1 cup beer
   1 cup chicha de jora (fermented red or yellow corn juice)*
   1½ cups cilantro leaves, pureed in a blender or food processor
   2¼ cups yucca, cut into large chunks
   1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
   
Suggested accompaniments: white rice and beans.

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet (or two, if necessary) and in it brown the lamb chunks. Remove meat from skillet and in the remaining fat sauté the onion and until just tender. Add the aji amarillo and cumin and return the meat to the pan, combining well. Add salt, pepper, beer, chica de jora and cilantro.
  2. Cover pan and cook over low heat until meat is tender, about 45 minutes. Add green peas and yucca. Continue cooking until liquid almost evaporates and thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with white rice and beans, if desired.

   Serves 6 to 8.
*Can be ordered via the Internet at sites such as www.perucooking.com, but can also be purchased directly at Cuzco Restaurant.
Pat Tanner can be heard each Saturday morning on "Dining Today with Pat Tanner" on MoneyTalk AM 1350 and over www.moneytalk1350.com from 9 to 10 a.m.