Original article: Radio Programas del Perú (RPP), 09/18/05

To read the original Spanish article, click here.





This translation is from the wonderful Peruvian cooking show, Divina Comida (Divine Food) on Radio Programas del Perú (RPP), hosted by Cucho La Rosa , one of the leading proponents of Peruvian cuisine, known for ceaselessly searching out the best food in the most off-the-beaten path locations. I hope this translation does him justice.



The text and the photos are all from the RPP website .



Happy eating!







The shrimp route leads us to Azpitia, in the province of Cañete .



From the program Divina Comida on RPP



Azpitia (also known as San Vicente de Azpitia) is located one hour south of Lima, in the province of Cañete , and is a paradisiacal location where you find the freshest and most attractive shrimp, which come from the area near Calango.



Azpitia offers visitors many different types of local delicacies, and locally produced, good quality, wines and piscos.







Angela Caballero calls herself a guisandera (stew-maker). She is the owner of the El Mayoral restaurant and hotel, and although she never attended a culinary institute in her life, her good taste has led her to prepare sophisticated dishes utilizing locally grown products.







One of Angela's greatest inventions is a dish she calls camarones chacareros (the word camarón means shrimp). This impressive meal is made of shrimp and boiled yuca root, seasoned with a sauce made of ají amarillo and saffron, which is cooked, and then served, wrapped in a banana leaf.







Her ravioles cholos and her duck in a creamy ají sauce are other mouth-watering dishes at her country-style restaurant, which is well-known among gastronomic tourists, those visitors who are constantly searching for places like hers, that offer wonderful culinary experiences.









In Santa Cruz de Flores , near Azpitia (also in Cañete province), you can also spend a pleasant time with your family or friends visiting the Bodega San Andrés, owned by María Arias, who produces good quality wine and pisco. Thanks to her efforts and dedication, she has won local prizes for the excellence of her product.







In September, Azpitia celebrates its Pisco Festival, and you can easily obtain this grape-based spirit at a reasonable price directly from the producers.



To reach El Mayoral, you need to head south on the Panamericana Sur, until you arrive at León Dormido beach (at kilometer 80), where you find the turn off. You need to continue along the old coastal highway to the town of San Antonio , and from there, follow the signs.



As a special treat, Angela Caballero has provided us with her recipe for her famous camarones chacareros .



Camarones Chacareros as made at El Mayoral



Preparation for one person.



Ingredients:



8 fresh medium-sized shrimp

2 tablespoons of ají amarillo cream

1 hearty splash of extra virgen olive oil

1 teaspoon of finely-diced garlic

1/4 teaspoon of saffron

Salt and pepper

Banana leaves, previously smoked

6 pieces of boiled yuca root



Preparation:



In a bowl, combine the ají amarillo , the oil, the finely-diced garlic, the saffron, the salt and pepper, and mix well. Place the shrimp in this mixture, and let them marinate for about 15 minutes.



In the meantime, place the banana leaf (once you have cut it to the right size) on a table. Place the pieces of boiled yuca, and then the shrimp, in two rows upon the banana leaf. Add the remaining mixture on top of the shrimp and yuca. Fold the banana leaf as if you were making a small package, and tie it. Steam cook the package for 10 minutes.



Serve in the banana leaf itself.







Peru.Food@gmail.com

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This is going to be the Mega Post of all of the restaurants discussed on this blog. As I discuss new restaurants, I will add the link to this post. The link to this post will always be in the sidebar, for easy access.



Just click on the restaurant name below to find the restaurant you're looking for on Peru Food.



I'm hoping this will make for better organizational system.



Happy eating!





Gato



La Gorda in Madrid



El Mayoral in Azpitia, Cañete



El Arlequín in San Isidro



Asia de Cuba in San Isidro



La Choza Naútica in Breña



Wa Lok in Lima's Chinatown



Mi Perú in Barranco



El Rocoto in Surco



Café Haiti in Miraflores



Restaurante Cebichería Mi Propiedad Privada in San Miguel



La Canta Rana in Barranco



El Mesón del Almirante in Central Lima



El Fayke Piurano in Central Lima



Manhattan Café Restaurant in Central Lima



Bar Maury and the Salón de los Espejos at the Hotel Maury in Central Lima



L'Eau Vive in Central Lima



Bembos in Central Lima



Pardo's Chicken in Central Lima



Bar Cordano in Central Lima



Restaurante La Muralla in Central Lima



Titi in San Isidro



Restaurante Royal in San Isidro



Hou Wha in Miraflores



Salón Capón in Lima's Chinatown and the Jockey Plaza



San Joy Lao in Lima's Chinatown



Astrid & Gaston Restaurant



Cebichería Barranco



Bar Juanito in Barranco



Casa Hacienda Moreyra in San Isidro



Los Vitrales at the Country Club Lima Hotel in San Isidro



Delicass in San Isidro and at the Jockey Plaza



Delphos Café at Hotel Los Delfines



Dulcinea Pastelería in Miraflores



La Bonbonniere in San Isidro



La Factoría in Miraflores



La Rosa Náutica in Miraflores



La Tiendecita Blanca in Miraflores



La Vista at the JW Marriott Hotel in Miraflores



Le Café at the Swissôtel in San Isidro



Mangos Larcomar in Miraflores



Select at the Holiday Inn in Miraflores









Peru.Food@gmail.com

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(Fragmentos de una cocina amorosa)

1. También en la cocina habitan los duendes de la poesía. No creo que haya otro lugar en la casa donde la creación se vuelva cotidiana y donde la imaginación se una al pensamiento para aderezarlo y hacerlo siempre más amable. En la cocina hay ciencia y poesía, álgebra y fuego, deseo y memoria. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz descubrió en ella los secretos naturales y se lamentó de que Aristóteles no hubiese cocinado nunca. “Si hubiera guisado, mucho más hubiera escrito”, afirmó la inteligente monja, para quien la cocina era un espacio filosófico. “Filosofar y aderezar la cena” era una frase de uno de los Argensola (¿Lupercio?) que a Juana Inés le gustaba repetir.

2. La cocina es albergue. Voy a la cocina y recuerdo un verso de Umberto Saba: “Me accoglie al caldo la cucina”. ¿Dónde está ese verso? Busco Mediterráneas y lo encuentro. Está en el bellísimo poema “Gratitud” que había marcado alguna vez. En él Saba recuerda sus días en Roma y en Milán. En esta última siente la tristeza bajo la nieve, pero también siente más bella la ciudad. Y es allí donde el poeta acude a la cocina buscando calor. Y el calor lo acoge. Ese momento se convirtió después en un verso que recuerdo ahora cuando entro a la cocina de mi casa buscando una metáfora. Y la encuentro.

3. Lezama fuma su tabaco en La Zaragozana. Está feliz por el almuerzo, por la agradable compañía y por el verso que acaba de pensar (“Su casa era el espacio de la mañana”). El pensamiento lezamiano viene con el recuerdo de la cocina de su casa. Ella es el eterno espacio de la mañana en donde su madre hierve la leche y sigue las aromosas costumbres del café.

4. Voy al libro de Lezama donde consigo el verso anterior. Es el comienzo del poema “Nacimiento del día”. Está en Fragmentos a su imán, ese espléndido y milagroso libro final del etrusco de La Habana. Hago la lectura y veo de pronto a la diosa ambarina que regresa y destrenza “graciosamente su cabellera planetaria”. La diosa ambarina entra a la cocina.

5. Las cocinas exageradamente asépticas no son hospitalarias, aunque parezcan de hospital. A mi me gustan las cocinas barrocas. Y si sobrias, me agrada que tengan alguna gracia o algún mínimo desarreglo. Nada que ahuyente a los duendes de la poesía. Nada que frene el trabajo secreto de la imaginación.

6. Recuerdo en este momento la cocina de mi abuela. Para entrar se pasaba por un tinajero que refrescaba con sólo mirarlo. La magia comenzaba allí. Era una cocina pobre pero repleta de viejos utensilios. De ella salían maravillas. Una, el olor del agua de azahar que todavía me subyuga.

7. Sin duda, el centro de la casa es la cocina. Es el lugar del más noble oficio doméstico. De las manos de la oficiante nos viene el alimento sagrado de la vida. Ella nos da el pan y el vino. Ahí está todo.

(Except, perhaps, for the first sunny day after months and months of gray skies and torrential rain...) One of my favorite ways to eat asparagus is simply blanched or steamed until just tender, drizzled with a light touch of fruity olive oil and sprinkled with salt.

Yet no matter how hard I try to be 'proper,' 'polite,' or 'grown up,' I simply cannot eat it with a fork and knife...I have to pick it up gently and eat it with my fingers, snapping off small bites with my teeth. To me, asparagus has always been a finger food. I especially love the surprise of finding it on appetizer platters for dipping in hummus or creamy vegetable dips.

But when I saw this appetizer on the first few pages of Gourmet magazine when I picked it up this month, I was sold: Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus with truffle butter. You already know how I feel about truffles, but this is finger food at it's finest, complete with a big, welcome "hello" to Spring. Plus, with all the basketball games going on lately, there was even a perfect excuse to make it.

Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus with truffle butter, from Gourmet

1 lb. medium asparagus (not too thin, or it won't stand up to being wrapped in the salty goodness of the prosciutto)
salt, to taste
1/2 tsp. white truffle oil
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/3 lb. of thinly sliced proscuitto (having your butcher place wax paper between each slice is a huge time-saver and makes for a much prettier presentation)

Prepare a large bowl filled with ice and cold water. Trim the asparagus and steam over boiling water until crisp-tender (~4 min.), then place in the cold water with tongs to stop the cooking. Drain and pat dry gently. Season with salt.

Stir oil into butter until incorporated. (Alternatively, make your own truffle butter with real truffles if you've got them). Thinly coat the slices of prosciutto with the truffle butter, then roll up the asparagus spears in the prosciutto, leaving the tip and end visible. You can roll your asparagus packages up a little more than I did - I didn't read it as carefully as I should have and only wrapped the ends, but it was still a big hit :)