Sunday marked the end to my first week in Bozeman. I spent most of the morning laying in bed, paging through my Peruvian cookbook, secretly wiping the drool from the corners of my mouth. I settled on a recipe for Tacu Tacu, a dish invented by the black African slaves who worked the cotton and sugar plantations in colonial Peru. The traditional recipe consists of a pattied mixture of rice and beans, combined with pig's fat and spices. I've adapted the recipe below, serving it with a cool lentil salad, seared Halibut and fried bananas, topped with a spicy onion and tomato sauce. The 2 types of lentils and fish made for a protein packed dish perfect after a weekend of outdoor adventures. It didn't take us long to gormandize our plates in their entirety, and it helped me recall how amazing Peruvian flavors can be.
For the Tacu Tacu:
1/2 cup cooked brown lentils, 2 tbsp of them pureed
1 cup cooked basmati rice
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp chopped red onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp aji panca paste (see recipe below)
1 banana, sliced lengthwise into quarters
In large skillet, sauté onion and garlic over medium heat until golden, about 4 minutes. Add the lentils, rice, oregano, aji panca and mix well. Heat a thin layer of oil in the base of a Teflon pan. Patty the Tacu Tacu mixture into 2 round discs, like a small thick tortilla. Cook for a few minutes on each side, gently flipping when browned. You can fry the bananas in the same pan if you have room, or after the patties are finished.
For the lentil salad (inspired by Jordan Smith's wonderful concoction)
1/2 cup cooked green lentils
2 tbsp chopped red onion
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped parsley *garden fresh here in Bozeman
1 Roma tomato, chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients except herbs and chill for 1 hour. Add cilantro and parsley before serving.
Spicy Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 medium red onions, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 jalapeno or similar peppers, seeded and sliced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 cup dry white wine, drink the rest while cooking
1 cup vegetable broth
3 tomatoes, seeded and quartered
1 tbs freshly chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Heat oil and butter. Sauté garlic and onion over medium heat until golden. Add paprika and flour and mix well. Add bay leaves, peppers, wine, vinegar and stock. Continue cooking until sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add tomato, oregano, and cilantro. Cook until tomatoes are warmed, and remove bay leaves. If you like your sauce less chunky, puree part of the sauce in a food processor before serving over pan seared fish.
Pasta (meaning paste) de Aji Amarillo
Traditionally this recipe uses the hot yellow pepper of Peru, but using jalapenos or seranos works just as well. I wasn't sure how spicy this would be, so I used a mixture of our garden seranos and yellow bell pepper. It wasn't hot enough!
1 lb. hot peppers
1/2 cup sugar (I used only 2 tbsp)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp oil
Wash, stem, and devein the peppers. Place in a large pot of cold water and bring them to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until peppers are soft. Strain, and place them in a food processor or blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blend to form a creamy paste. Press through mesh sieve to remove any pieces of skin.