Aji Amarillo Avocado Tostada

This recipe is from  About.com Guide, By Brett Moore

This ceviche-style recipe with hot peppers and fresh halibut was created by Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger (Border Grill Restaurant and Food Network's Too Hot Tamales) courtesy the Hass Avocado Board.

Aji Amarillo is a type of yellow pepper. (It is the most common type of aji and is one of the most important ingredients in Peruvian cooking. It has a heat level of 6. Although they are named yellow pepper their color changes to orange as they mature.) Visit Zócalo Gourmet to learn more about this Aji paste.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes



Ingredients:

    •    1/2 Pound skinless, boneless Pacific halibut, cut in 1/4-inch dice
    •    3/4 Cup freshly squeezed lime juice
    •    1 1/2 tsp Aji Amarillo paste
    •    1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
    •    1/2 small red onion, finely diced
    •    1 Aji Amarillo chile, stem and seeds removed, minced
    •    1 red Jalapeño chile, stem and seeds removed, finely diced
    •    1 (1/2-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
    •    1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
    •    4 firm, ripe avocados, peeled, seeded and cut in 1/2-inch dice
    •    1/2 small jicama, peeled and julienned into one-inch strips
    •    6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, fried until crisp
    •    Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
    •    1/4 head green cabbage, thinly shredded, for serving

Preparation:
Serves 6.

    1.    In a large bowl, combine halibut and 1/2 cup of lime juice. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes, then drain, discarding the liquid.
    2.    In another large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of lime juice, Aji Amarillo paste and olive oil.
    3.    Stir in onion, chiles, ginger and cilantro; season to taste with salt and pepper.
    4.    Add avocado, jicama, and halibut; stir gently to combine.
    5.    Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
    6.    Chill thoroughly then serve on a thin bed of shredded cabbage atop the crispy corn tortillas.
     
Serving Suggestions

Recipe Variation: Serve in a chilled martini glass, garnished with tortilla chips.

Ari Weinzweig is "super psyched" over Zócalo's Aji Amarillo

Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman's Deli and author of A Lapsed Anarchists Approach to Building a Great Business, raves about Zócalo's Aji Amarillo in his newsletter excerpted here with permission.

Aji Amarillo; Amazing Sun-Dried Yellow Chile from Peru
Ari Weinzweig

Some people get excited about big TV appearances and book releases, but you probably already know that I’m not really one of them.  What gets me going are smaller things; four year olds who love the mac and cheese at the Roadhouse; regular folks who’ve been frustrated with the corporate world for so long they forgot things could be any other way until they get here to eat or work; little girls picking out goat cheese with their parents; older folks who grew up on great bread coming to the Bakehouse for the first time and discovering a source of traditional full flavored crusty loaves.  I like it a lot when we make some small improvement in a long-standing popular product to make it even better still.  And I get really excited when we’re able to get some really amazing—but almost unknown (in Ann Arbor)—traditional foods from other parts of the world to work with here.

I’m writing here with that last one in mind—I’m super psyched that this great traditional chile has arrived in Ann Arbor from Peru.  Aji Amarillo means “yellow chile,” but don’t let the rather mundane literal translation lead you to underestimate its import in its homeland.  To quote Betsy Power, our importer who’s grown ever more passionate about Peruvian foods in the last few years, “Aji Amarillo is the soul of Peruvian cooking.”  

While I haven’t yet been in person (I know I need to—I’ll get there before too long), I’m getting the sense that Aji Amarillo is to Peru what green chile is in New Mexico.  While the latter likely means little to those who haven’t spent time a lot of time in the Land of Enchantment (see the essay I wrote on it ages ago on the Roadhouse website), I’ll just say that visiting New Mexico during chile season is . . . is a big deal.  Green chile is in almost everyone’s kitchen.  It’s on every restaurant menu and at every farmer’s market; New Mexicans long for it when they’re away from home for more than a few days.  They put it in everything from salsas, to sauces, to sandwiches, pizzas and even bagels.  I’m getting the sense that much the same is true for aji amarillo; I met a pair of Peruvians when I spoke in DC last month and their eyes lit up large when I told them we’d just gotten some in to the Deli. 

Chiles . . .  I think that chiles are likely a much bigger deal down there than those of us who didn’t grow up with them are likely to “get.”  I’m thinking to say that they’re the “chime that rings the bell of Latin American cooking.” Maybe that’s not quite right, but you get the idea.  Although it’s hard to convey up here in our meat centric world of North American menus, Rick Bayless taught me ages ago that although you often can’t really see them on the plate, chiles are actually the centerpiece of many Central and South American dishes. Down there chiles aren’t chopped liver; they’re the stars, the featured players, the sought after free agents.  It’s the complexity of flavor of the peppers, not the pork, poultry, beef, or fish that accompany them, that are the center of culinary attention. 

As you might already know, Peru is probably the homeland of the original chiles.  They use any number of them but as Betsy Power put it so nicely, the aji amarillo is the star of their chile show.  This particular aji amarillo come from one of the first organic farms in Peru.  It’s located near Chincha, about half way down the coast if you’re heading south from Ecuador toward Chile, but inland a bit, right up along the edge of the Peruvian dessert.  From what I know the farm has done some very nice work to train local growers in organic techniques, provide health care and infrastructure.  As for the chile itself . . . it’s pretty tasty stuff. Hot for sure, though not enough to smoke you out.  Well, I guess that’s actually personal judgment—“everyone’s heat is their own.”  For me at least . . . aji amarillo is notably hot without searing my senses.  It’s got a light, slightly citrusy maybe, flavor to go with its moderate levels of fire. 

I have much more to learn about Peruvian cooking so what follows are merely my early attempts to work with the aji.  You can use the aji amarillo in pretty much any way you want.  Simple stuff like sprinkling it onto goat cheese, salad, fresh mozzarella, or French fries.

Try it in salsas and ceviches for sure.  I’ve been doing a simple chile sauce  (a bit of olive oil warmed with a touch of flour stirred in, and then ground yellow chile added.  Stir in a bit of warm water.  Simmer softly for a few minutes. I like it with . . . pretty much everything.  Fish, scallops, vegetables, cheese, and meat of most every sort.  Very nice way to spice up some rice.  It’s also easy to sprinkle onto just-cooked steamed potatoes or add it (with some fresh lime juice) to mashed potatoes. Actually one of Peru’s famous dishes is papas al huancaina – cold, cooked potatoes topped with a simple sauce of minced onion and garlic and yellow chiles sautéed in a bit of oil, then blended with a bit of milk and fresh white (farm type) cheese. I guess if you’re entertaining Michigan fans for a football game this fall, you could impress them by serving up some of those really delicious blue potatoes at the market and top with yellow chile sauce.

To learn more about all of our Peruvian Aji's visit the Zócalo Gourmet website.

New from Peru: PUSSAC PUNAY BEANS

In Quechua, the native language of the region, Pussac Punay means the “sleeping eight” for each bean pod contains eight beans.

Pussac Punay is made up of about twenty similar varieties of beans that have the same growth cycle and have been planted together for generations.

These beans are grown in the remote Huancalavilca region, east of Lima, between the altitudes of 7,000 and 10,000 feet, by an association of small farmers using organic cultivation practices. The farmers grow maize along with the beans in a symbiotic relationship where the corn stalk becomes the beanpole.

Soak for 6 to 8 hours or use in a slow cooker.

 Marion's Slow Cooker Beans and Greens 

1 box Zócalo Pussac Punay Beans

1 onion cut in quarters

2 carrots cut in quarters

1 large bayleaf

2 1/2 t Sage

2 1/2 t Thyme

3 garlic cloves minced

1 pound (one bag) washed baby spinach

4 cups of water

2 tbs of olive oil

Combine beans, onion, carrots in 4 cups of water in a slow cooker on high 4-6 hours or until beans are tender.

Lightly sauté the minced garlic w/ 2tbs of olive oil, add spinach to wilt. Add the beans and a little of the bean "water" and cook for approximately 10 minutes until water has evaporated or thickened to a sauce. Serve over rice.