Purple Corn Peruvian Paella

One of my favorite traditions is to cook a Paella for my Mom on her birthday, and last Sunday for Mother’s Day, I was inspired to do the same. But this time, instead of using Spanish saffron and a tomato based sofrito, I wanted to make the Paella taste uniquely Peruvian. In other words, I wanted to use ingredients that truly conveyed the colors and flavors of Peru — I wanted to cook a seafood Paella with Peruvian purple corn and aji amarillo.

So the first thing I did Sunday morning, after having my cafe con leche of course, was to ride my bike to Bi-Rite Market on 18^th Street and pick up some shrimp, mussels, and fresh flowers. I had already prepared some purple corn elixir the night before, so all I had to do was cook the rice, prepare the sofrito, sauté the shrimp, steam the mussels, and put it all together in a dish that quite possibly has never been cooked before.

After arranging the flowers in a vase and taking a picture for my Mom, I was ready to roll, and like I alway do when cooking a new dish, took notes, tasted, adjusted, and improvised, all while smiling and thinking of my Mom. Presenting, a dish that combines the smoky spiciness of aji amarillo, the earthy color and flavor of purple corn, and the fresh taste of the sea — a Purple Corn Peruvian Paella for Mother’s Day.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE RICE

• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups chicha morada elixir

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SHRIMP

• 12 shrimp
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lime

INGREDIENTS FOR THE MUSSELS

• 12 mussels
• 1 cup fish stock
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• juice of 1/2 lime

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SOFRITO

• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon aji amarillo

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

• fresh parsley, chopped
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime, cut into quarters

PREPARATION

In addition to the ingredients above, you’ll need a large skillet between 10″-13″ for the paella, a pot with lid to cook the rice, and a pan with lid to steam the mussels.

1. Clean, peel, and devein the shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt and a few drops of lime juice, set aside. Clean the mussels and discard any that are open.
2. Mince the garlic, chop the onion, and prepare the fish stock.
3. Cook the rice in a pot, partially covered.
4. Sauté the shrimp in a skillet, remove from skillet when done.
5. Steam the mussels in a pan, partially covered. Remove from pan when done, discard any mussels that didn’t open, and reserve the cooking stock.
6. Prepare the sofrito in the same skillet that was used for the shrimp.
7. Mix about 3-4 cups of the cooked rice with the sofrito in the skillet.
8. Arrange the shrimp and mussels over the rice in the skillet.
9. Pour about 1/4 cup of the reserved stock over the paella, and heat for a few minutes.
10. Serve warm and garnish with fresh parsley, cilantro, and a few drops of fresh lime juice.

SERVINGS

4 servings.

NOTES

Plan to repare the chicha morada elixir a day or two ahead of time. To steam the rice, first sauté the garlic with oil, then add the rice, previously washed, and then add the liquid, in this case purple corn elixir. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer once the liquid has reduced to the same level as the rice. Turn off heat when the rice is cooked and the liquid has been completely reduced or absorbed. For convenience, you can use a bouillon fish stock, but reserve the fish stock with the butter and wine that was used to cook the mussels, as it will be used to moisten the paella before serving.

SF Food Blogger Bake Sale 2013

6:00 AM — It’s Saturday morning and with only 5 hours of sleep, I woke up early to make some Peruvian desserts. I had to be at the bake sale by 9 AM, help set up, and be ready for the 10 AM start. Which meant I only had just over 2 hours to make the Manjar Blanco Bon Bons and Pisco Balls from scratch. Go!

6:05 AM — But of course, before I started making anything, I made my cafe con leche.

6:15 AM — To make Manjar Blanco you need two essential tools: patience and the ability to stir. Once you combine the sweet and condensed milk with the evaporated milk in a pot and get it to simmer, all you need to do is stir slowly for about an hour. Walk away for a minute and the milk could burn and the dessert is ruined. Stop stirring and it could overheat, begin to boil, overflow, and the dessert is ruined. So all I did for the next hour was stir, sloooowly.

7:15 AM — The Manjar Blanco was ready, thick and sticking to the spoon, so I transferred it to a baking pan to let cool. When did I finish the cafe con leche? Must have been all that stirring.

7:20 AM — Make more cafe con leche.

7:30 AM — Start making the Pisco Balls, toast the pecans, grind them with a mortar and pestle, then grind the vanilla wafers, sift the powdered sugar, mix, add the Pisco and the raw sugar syrup. Start shaping into balls while thinking it was a good thing I made the raw sugar syrup ahead of time, otherwise that would have added another hour and a 5 AM wake up call.

7:45 AM — Check on the Manjar Blanco. Not cool enough. What??? If it hasn’t cooled it can’t be shaped into bon bons. Put it in the fridge and let it cool another 30 mins. Get back to making the Pisco Balls, rolling them in the powdered sugar. Test one to make sure they came out all right. Damn. More than all right.

7:55 AM — Take five and finish the cafe con leche while enjoying a Pisco Ball for breakfast. Time stands still.

7:56 AM — Just realized I had Pisco for breakfast. Awesome.

8:00 AM — Take the Manjar Blanco out of the fridge and start shaping into bon bons, roll them in cinnamon powder and garnish with a sugar pearl.

8:15 AM — Put the desserts in mini cupcake paper cups, arrange in three gift boxes, write all the ingredients in index cards, write the name of each dessert, Manjar Blanco Bon Bons, Pisco Balls, tape the cards to each box, and attach business cards.

8:30 AM — Done. Time for a quick shower, put on my favorite Peru t-shirt and off to the bake sale.

9:00 AM — Start setting up tables, meet the bakers and food bloggers, greet old friends and make new ones. The conversations are all about food. Love it.

10:00 AM — Get the party started by greeting people passing by with “I made a special Peruvian dessert for you!” or “this Peruvian treat will go great with your morning coffee!”

11:30 AM — Sold last box of Peruvian treats, said my farewells, and started thinking about what to have for lunch…

Last Saturday’s San Francisco’s Food Blogger Bake Sale raised over $1,000 for Share our Strength, an organization that is committed to ending childhood hunger in America through their No Kid Hungry program. All we food bloggers had to do was bake something, donate it to the cause, and sell it in our community. A simple but beautiful example of the power of food. This was my first time participating and was very grateful to all the people who stopped to buy some sweet treats from us. If you missed out on the bake sale, you can still help end childhood hunger by making a donation →

Pan con Chicharron, Braised Pork and Sweet Potato Sandwich

During a recent interview for KQED Bay Area Bites, I was asked about my favorite Peruvian breakfast and without any hesitation my reply was Pan con Chicharron, a braised pork and sweet potato sandwich that is savory, spicy, and goes perfectly with my morning cafe con leche. This is what you need to do to add the Peruvian touch to your next Sunday Brunch.

First, you need to plan in advance and let the pork brine overnight. Then you need to braise the pork for about 2 hours. While the pork is braising, you can prepare the sweet potatoes and the salsa criolla, a spicy onion, habanero, and lime juice salsa. Serve the sandwich warm with your morning coffee and you’ll be ready to start your day the Peruvian way.¡Buen Provecho!

In addition to the ingredients above, you’ll need a large sealed container for brining the pork, a large pot for braising, a bowl to make the salsa, a pot to cook the sweet potatoes, and a skillet to sear the pork and sweet potatoes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. pork chop, bone on
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1 yellow onion cut into quarters
• 1 yellow onion, julienned
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large sweet potato
• olive oil
• 2 habanero peppers, julienned
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh cilantro for garnish
• 4 sandwich buns

PREPARATION

1. Combine 4 cups water and 1/4 cup salt in a sealable container, add the pork, cover, and brine overnight in the fridge.
2. Remove the pork from the container, discard the brining solution, and place the pork in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the pork by 1 inch, about 10 cups of water.
3. Add 4 onion quarters and the bay leaf, bring to a simmer, partially covered, and let the water reduce completely, about 2 hours.
4. In a separate pot, cook the sweet potato in water until it’s fork tender. Remove from water, peel, cut into 8 rounds, and set aside.
5. Julienne the habanero peppers after removing the stem, seeds, and veins. Julienne the yellow onion, and toss in a bowl with the habanero peppers and juice of 1 lime. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. When the braising liquid has completely evaporated, continue to cook the pork in its own fat for a few minutes to brown it. Remove from heat and set aside.
7. Remove the meat from the bone and cut into 4 large pieces.
8. On a skillet with olive oil over medium heat with, brown all the pieces before serving. In the same skillet, brown the sweet potato rounds.
9. Place 2 sweet potato rounds in each bun, topped with a piece of pork, and garnished with the onion and habanero salsa and a few cilantro leaves.
10. Serve warm with cafe con leche.

SERVINGS

4 servings.

NOTES

Browning the pork in the skillet is optional and is only necessary if it did not brown enough in its own fat after braising and if you want a crispier texture. Typically, the sweet potatoes are fried but I prefer to cook them in water. That way, they keep better and you don’t have to brown them until you are ready to make the sandwich. You can also warm the sandwich buns in the oven before assembling the sandwich.

Zesty Lemonade Pisco

One of my favorite pop-up venues in San Francisco is hands-down Omnivore Books. Why? Not only do I get the pleasure of supporting the authors that stop by to talk about their new books, but I get to surprise the audience with Pisco cocktails and Peruvian desserts. And who doesn’t like surprises? Would you like a Pisco cocktail? Yes please! The cocktails and desserts that I make for an event at Omnivore Books are often inspired by the author’s book, and for Toby Sonneman’s Lemon: A Global History event I enjoyed making a Zesty Lemonade Pisco cocktail and a dessert with Pisco and lemon zest.

I’ve been told that serving a Pisco cocktail before a talk sets the mood, and judging by the smiles on everyone’s face after taking a sip of the Pisco cocktail, we were going to have a good time. From Asia, to the Middle East, Italy, the Caribbean, and North America, Toby traced the history and many uses of lemons, read from her book, and showed us photographs. In one of my favorite stories she told how British sailors in the Caribbean discovered that lemon juice cured scurvy and that they drank lemon juice with their rum and water grog. Add some simple syrup, ice, shake, serve with mint, and you have a refreshing and life-saving cocktail.

Pisco Balls

The start of the Q&A was my cue to prep the dessert, Pisco Balls garnished with fresh lemon zest, and judging by the comments from the audience, it was even more popular than the Pisco cocktail. During the Q&A, I was delighted when one of the audience members raised her hand and asked the speaker if she had the recipe for the dessert in her book. In response I smiled and said the recipe was in my blog. So, it seems, that in addition to starting a talk with a Pisco cocktail, ending a talk with a Pisco dessert is also a good thing. A culinary history lesson from a passionate author, a warm and inquisitive audience, an opportunity to enjoy Peruvian desserts and Pisco, all in a wonderful venue? That’s just another Wednesday night at Omnivore Books.

Thank you to Omnivore Books for inviting me to be part of this event, to the Culinary Historians of Northern California for co-hosting, and to Toby for sharing your passion with us in San Francisco. It was a pleasure to share Peruvian culture and Pisco cocktails with you, cheers!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE ZESTY LEMONADE

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups sugar

PREPARATION

This recipe requires about 12 lemons total, 10 for juicing and 2 for garnish rounds. In addition to the ingredients, you’ll need a pot for making the simple syrup, a measuring cup, and a large jar for storing the lemonade.

1. Slice the lemons in half and squeeze 1 cup of fresh lemon juice into a measuring cup. Set aside and save the lemon skins.
2. In a pot over medium heat combine the sugar with 2 cups water, stir and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Turn off heat, place 10 lemon skin halves in the pot, skin side down, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes.
3. Use a tong to remove the lemon skins, squeezing any liquid that was absorbed back into the pot. Save the zesty simple syrup and discard the lemon peels.
4. In a large jar, strain and combine the lemon juice and zesty simple syrup with 1 cup water. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

YIELD

4 cups of zesty lemonade

INGREDIENTS FOR THE COCKTAIL

• 2 oz. Pisco
• 4 oz. zesty lemonade
• ice
• 8 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
• lemon round and mint sprig for garnish

PREPARATION

Pour the zesty lemonade and Pisco into a tumbler glass filled with ice. Add the Peychaud’s bitters, stir and garnish with a lemon round and mint sprig.

SERVINGS

1 serving.

Pisco Bijou

If you speak French, you know that Bijou means jewel, and if you drink cocktails, you know that the classic Bijou is made by mixing three spirits whose colors represent three different jewels: diamond, emerald, and ruby. In the classic Bijou cocktail, gin is used for the diamond, but here, the diamond is Pisco, which plays very nicely with the aromatics from the chartreuse and the sweetness of the vermouth. If you don’t speak French, don’t worry, one sip of the Pisco Bijou will make you fluent and one drink might get you into a little bit of trouble: Voulez-vous un Pisco Bijou mon cheri?

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz. Pisco
• 1 oz. Green Chartreuse
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• dash of orange bitters
• ice
• orange peel for garnish

PREPARATION

Mix the Pisco, Green Chartreuse, sweet vermouth, and dash of orange bitters in a stirring glass with ice. Stir for 15 seconds to chill. Serve strained in a coupe, and garnish with an orange peel.

SERVINGS

1 serving.

NOTES

Green Chartreuse has a fascinating history, and was originally created as an elixir for long life by Carthusian monks in France. Its recipe is a closely guarded secret that combines 130 herbs, flowers, and other ingredients in a wine alcohol base. First made in 1605, it is rumored that monks perfected the recipe over a period of 100 years. Which means Green Chartreuse was first made around the same time Pisco was first distilled in Peru.