Festive Rice and Kañiwa

Kañiwa (pronounced ka-nyi-wa) is a species of goosefoot (flowering plant), similar to quinoa, grown in the highlands of the Andes mountains. Use it as you would any grain, cold or hot Kañiwa is gluten free and adds protein, calcium and iron to any meal. No need to soak Kañiwa because unlike quinoa, it isn't coated in bitter tasting saponins.

Zócalo Kañiwa Grain

Add a 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of your favorite rice and 2 cups of water and a table spoon of olive oil. The Kañiwa and rice finish at the same time, creating a unique texture and a festive rice dish.

Sandra Gray

Aji Amarillo Chile Rellenos

This delicious recipe was developed by our friend, Sandra Gray at Food for Thought.

Aji Amarillo Chile Rellenos

Salty cheese and delicate egg batter highlight the spicy yet floral character of these lovely chiles from Peru.

Makes about five.
Sauce:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 can diced tomatoes with juice (15 oz)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt

Chile Relleno:
1 package Zócalo Gourmet Aji Amarillo Chiles, softened in very hot water for 30 minutes
4 ounces queso fresco (or jack or chevre), cut into ½” cubes
2 tablespoons Zócalo Gourmet Sweet Potato Flour
1 egg, white and yolk divided
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
2 tablespoons salted pepitas for garnish (optional)

1.    Saute the onions and the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until wilted and slightly browned.

2.    Add tomato with juice, oregano, sea salt and sugar.

3.    Using a stick blender (or transfer to a blender or food processor) process until smooth.

4.    Cook over medium heat while preparing the chiles. Adjust seasoning as desired.

5.    Carefully cut a slit through each chile lengthwise, keeping the stem end intact.

6.    Using a teaspoon, gently scrape out the seeds and the veins of the chile. (Keep hands away from face and eyes after handling chiles)

7.    Gently stuff cheese into each chile. Do not overstuff.

8.    Pinch the chiles closed and secure them with toothpicks.

9.    Roll each chile in the Sweet Potato Flour.

10. In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg white until it holds a peak.

11. Fold the egg yolk and 1 Tbls. of the Sweet Potato Flour left from step 9

12. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat.

13. Dip the chiles in the egg batter and fry until golden brown on each side, turning once.

14. Spoon sauce on serving dish and arrange rellenos on top. Spoon additional sauce over and garnish with pepitas, if using. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Mesquite - Peanut Butter Granola, Gluten Free

Here's a great new recipe to get your morning started out right. Plenty of protein with just enough sweetness to rival any brand.

Mesquite - Peanut Butter Granola, Gluten Free

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free rolled oats
3/4 cups peanuts (raw or roasted)
1/4 ground flax seed
3 Tbsp Mesquite flour
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 peanut butter (no added sugar, and very soft)
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Step 1: preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with vegetable oil.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients except the salt (oats, flax, mesquite, peanuts) and stir well.
Step 3: In a small bowl, mix maple syrup and peanut butter and stir until quite liquid. Add the salt and mix well.
Step 4: add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture. Use your hands or a spoon to knead the moisture thoroughly into the dry mixture.
Step 5: spread the granola onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir to break up the mixture. Let cool before putting into a container.

Enjoy!

Zócalo Gluten-free Sweet Potato Flour Pancakes

Start your mornings out right with this easy pancake recipe:

1 cup Zócalo sweet potato flour
1/3 cup all purpose gluten free flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk (or other type of milk)
2 Tbsp olive oil

Whisk together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Combine the two and whisk until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to keep the mixture pourable. On a medium-hot griddle, ladle out pancakes in large spoon sizes. When bubbling, flip. Let cook thoroughly as the sweet potato is denser than other flours and takes a few more seconds.

Pour on Zócalo Gourmet Mesquite honey or spread one of our delicious fruit spreads over the top for a real Peruvian treat.

A Peruvian Primer

 by Betsy Power

It was cold and dark at 4:30 a.m. I was told it was best to travel this early to avoid the terrorists. The native bean producers I was on route to visit were only 60 miles from Huancayo, but in the Peruvian Andes this equated to a butt-numbing 3 hour ride on some of the worse roads I have ever felt.  

Once over the 14,000 foot pass, the sun started to rise and bring the blood back to my extremities, but it also shed light on the frightening precipice to my left as we crawled along, clinging to the side of mountains.

Trout

This is my third trip to Peru in search of native sustainably produced foods. And I have fallen in love - with the country, its people, and especially its food. In the last three weeks I have visited an organic trout cooperative in a lake neighboring Lago Titicaca, producers of kañiwa and quinoa in the high altiplano, a community of farmers who grow maize and native beans using the corn stalks as beanpoles, a family of native potato farmers, a cooperative of gooseberry producers, a community of Quechua women who harvest sauco (elderberry) from their wild trees to supplement the family income, a community of fair trade cacao producers in the fringes of the Amazonian jungle, and an association of mesquite producers who jointly manage an organic native mesquite forest.

ceremonial Pachamanca

In every case, the producers are either certified organic or working towards certification, in a country that places no value on organic produce. It is a leap of faith for these producers to go against the norm and they look to the outside world to keep this faith alive. In many of my visits, I am the first and only Gringa that has ever visited their farm, town, or community. As in the outskirts of Huancayo, where the tiny village of Dos de Mayo received me with a heartfelt speech and the ceremonial Pachamanca – a traditional meal cooked in the ground for three hours. Layers of native potatoes, whole chickens, homemade sweet tamales (humitas), and fresh lima beans in their pods, intermixed with hot stones, covered in cloth and earth. When it is time to eat everyone starts digging to uncover the wonders that the earth has provided. It was perhaps the most amazing meals I have ever participated in.

The Andean region is home to one of the most important centers of genetic diversity in the world. Peru alone has over 35 species of corn, 2500 varieties of potatoes, 3000 varieties of sweet potato, and 650 native species of fruit. Because of Peru’s unique geography, its pre-Incan heritage, Spanish conquerors, and influences from a plethora of immigrants ranging from African to Japanese, Peruvian cuisine combines the flavors of four continents.

Purple Corn

In many of the surrounding countries, native cuisine was lost to outside influences, but in the high Andes and the low jungles, the native people fought to preserve their cultural and culinary customs.  In recent years, the western world has begun to benefit from this foresight with such unique and highly nutritious grains as amaranth and quinoa (known as the “mother grain” to the Incas), tropical fruits like the gooseberry, and enervating supplements such as maca. But have you heard of kañiwa, tarwi,  lucuma, panca chili, camu camu, huacatay or pussac punay beans?

Considering the amount of energy it takes to reach these producers, it is not difficult to understand why some of these foods have never made it out of their immediate region, let alone the county. And why it is extremely rare for these communities to receive outside visitors, especially a blue-eyed, freckled Gringa. 

Sauco (Elderberry tree)

But despite the rough roads (the threat of terrorists, the lung-collapsing altitudes or smothering jungle heat, the bugs, the latrines, and at times questionable hygiene), rooting out these foods is well worth the effort. It is inspiring to meet farmers dedicated to producing native products in ways that are restorative to their environment. I have learned so much about the food that we import and that I eat on a regular basis – did you know that mesquite trees can grow to 40 meters in height, with a similar depth under ground? Or that cacao trees are polygamous, producing many different varieties of pods on the same branch? I have a notebook full of information and a hard drive overwhelmed with pictures and videos. And I will be sharing all of this in subsequent blogs as I continue to write of my travels and travails, seeking out foods that are truly rooted in their communities.

Aji Amarillo Sweet and Spicy Chili Paste Grilled Shrimp

Happy New Year! 

We are starting the new year out with some wonderful new relationships with other bloggers. This recipe from The Roxx Box is is a great example of incorporating healthy eating with a beautiful presentation.

Thanks Roxanne!

Peruvian Christmas

If you're one of those people who wait until December 24th to buy your gifts, you'll fit right in with Peruvian customs. A huge market is held in the Plaza de Armas on 24th December called
Santurantikuy or the buying of saints. You can purchase your gifts as well as a nativity scene to display in your home. Churches and homes begin decorating on December 24th and exhibit the nativity scenes until the La Bjeda de los Reyes, the arrival of the three wise men on January 6th.

Peruvians celebrate Christmas Eve (la Noche Buena) with a huge family dinner followed by gifts and fireworks at midnight. The traditional Christmas meal is turkey, and in the weeks leading up to Christmas the typical treat is hot chocolate with  sweet bread called panettone.

Panettone is an Italian sweet bread, but is much more popular in Peru than in Italy these days. Made from currants, apricots and cherries, pantettone uses yeast to rise several times giving it a unique texture and flavor.

Christmas celebrations in Peru still have some of the traditional Andean culture; church altars are adorned with gold and the baby Jesus is often depicted as a traditional Peruvian child.

In the week preceding Christmas, many communities, churches or organizations hold chocolatadas where a Christmas gesture is made to the poor children by offering them a cup of hot chocolate and a small gift. The lines for chocolatadas are a distinct feature of Christmas in Cusco, Peru.

We at Zócalo Gourmet wish you and yours a very happy and sweet filled holiday.