Peru: Mamas and Papas

Peru is an incredible place. Extreme: unforgettable smells of hot urine, car exhaust, and filth. The locals don't sweat the small stuff... they embrace the soiled city and it's stray dogs, and the poop filled streets, and the nosy tourists, and what they have or don't have. Peruvians are joyous people with serious character, and their food the same: limited resources, colorful composition.

Simple and delicious. Peruvian food really sealed the deal for writing this blog I've been blabbing about for so long. For some time I've entertained the idea of addressing my more recent philosophy of the importance of neglect in fine cooking. Rather than transforming foods into something unrecognizably complicated, I prefer pure ingredients and minimal preparation with little attention to detail. Peruvian mothers agree.


It begins at the Mercado San Pedro in Cusco, Peru. A bustling scene of vendors from six to six everyday, this place is a mad house. Exotic fruits, skinned cow faces, bulls testicles, and libido smoothies made of live frogs. The prepared foods at this place are delicious. And though I'm afraid to admit it to my mom, it is here I had revolutionary chicken soup. For breakfast.

The scene is intense: 7:00 am, twenty vendors, side by side, all serving the same chicken soup out of 100 gallon pots. All of them want you as their customer. There are benches and stools seemingly made for Peruvian children and not for anyone with longer legs. Piles of steaming chickens and vegetables sit in front of each station. And it's packed. Here's the story: many whole chickens, assorted whole vegetables, herbs and salt go into a pot. They hang out in the bath for hours before they're pulled out for display, the veggies get salted and vinegared so the bugs stay away, at which point the second batch of the same ingredients is thrown in the pot. It goes on like this, perhaps, forever.

When you order a soup, the soup lady picks up a big rock and a knife and hammers the knife through the chicken. A fist-sized chunk is put in a bowl, broth ladled over the top, then a couple chunks of carrot. Finished with a pinch of chopped onions and parsley. There is a spicy sauce of raw onions, garlic and hot peppers soaked in vinegar that's optional. You can ask for it with or without spaghetti, and with or without extra vegetables.

What I like most about this soup besides its depth is that everything goes in the pot and comes out looking exactly the same, just cooked. You know what you're eating, and you can taste it all in the broth. Neglect. Dump it in the pot, hack it up and serve it beautifully. The one pot cooking is popular in Peru, and what is in the pot is turned into many dishes: soups, salads, meat dishes all from the same pot. These ladies make escabeche (pickled vegetables), and two soups from the same cauldron. My host mother in Cusco, Aurora, did the same. Potatoes, Camote (sweet potatoes), Yucca, Chicken, onions, carrots, herbs, grains in a pot became fried chicken, potato salads, and hearty soup. The herbs are hard to come by... Huacatay, an herb in all Cusquena cuisine, only grows in the Andes. Sorry, North America. Some things will never be the same.

My host mom, Aurora, whipped up these three courses in less than an hour. Quinoa soup, fried chicken, potato salad. The vegetables are served whole. You don't have to cut anything! Genius.


One Pot Meal: Sopa de Quinoa

4 whole chicken legs, skinned
1 onion
2 potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
1 fist size chunk of squash
3 cloves garlic
1 stalk celery
2 inches ginger
1/2 c quinoa
1 tablespoon assorted fresh herbs
5 each black peppercorns and allspice or juniper berries
1 cup peas

Put all ingredients, except the peas, in pot or pressure cooker and cover with water, about 2-3 quarts. Leave the vegetables whole. Cook for at least 45 minutes at a simmer until everything is fork tender. Remove sweet potatoes, chicken, herbs, and squash. scrape the squash, mash, and return to the soup pot. Leave the sweet potatoes to cool. Reserve the chicken.


At this point, the soup just needs salt and peas. Simmer a couple minutes. That's the first course.

Papas Dulces and Fried Chicken with Salsa Amarilla

4 Chicken legs, from the pot, skinned
sweet potatoes (camote), from the pot, cooled
2 tomatoes
1 lime

for the salsa:
2 spicy yellow peppers
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons milk or water
1/4 c peanuts or mild cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon huacatay or cilantro
2 bland crackers
salt to taste

Rough chop veggies and sautee in olive oil for 5 minutes. Blend wit the rest of ingredients in a blender or food processor. This sauce is spicy.

In a lightly oiled hot pan, brown the chicken and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Slice the cold sweet potato and tomato and layer on the plate. Douse in salsa* **. Serve with a lime wedge. Sweet, spicy, salty, caramelized, smooth, rich, fresh. One pot. Three courses. Fantastic.



*if you prefer a mild salsa, sweet yellow peppers are just as good.
**And if you can't find hot yellow, use hot green or hot red: equally delicious.