This is one of my most favorite things to eat here. Actually, it's my most favorite "main dish", if Causa is on the menu I will always pick that first. Don't worry I will make a post soon about Causa and what it is as well.
Carapulcra pronounced Kah-dah-pull-crah is a stew made with mostly dried potatoes and pork, the base for the stew is made from ground peanuts, and ají panca and ají amarillo paste.
Now last time I talked about the peppers and spices here in Perú I had a lot of questions about them so here's a little bit to hold you over until I do a whole post which I am planning to post soon. Ají panca is a red pepper that is grown along the Peruvian coast and used in a lot of food. There is a powder that you can buy that is not hot and a paste as well. Ají amarillo is also a pepper found here in Peru that is used often as well. Both can be found online as well, click on the active links above to find them on amazon.
Making this wasn't too hard but it did take an overnight soak of the potatoes. I toasted them and then soaked them overnight one time before, this time, I toasted them in the morning and soaked them all day before I prepared the dish (So they soaked for 8 hours.) We had a few people over the night that I made this, and one of them was a Peruvian who is studying to be a chef. I told him not to lie to me I was a big girl and it would be ok if he said it wasn't great. I'm an amateur cook so I'm not expecting to win any awards for my food. He, however, finished his whole plate and told me it was good. So that was exciting for me because the first time that I made it, it didn't turn out so well.
I've put the Gaston Recipe below, and the linked ingredients are for purchasing in the US if you'd like to try making this at home.
Ingredients Needed:
4 cups dried potato (papa secas)
1 kg of pork ribs
80g peanuts, ground
25g butter
1 small red onion,
chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 pinch ground cumin
4 tbsp aji panca paste
2 tbsp aji amarillo paste
2 liters of pork or chicken broth
salt and pepper pork
Toppings or add-ins:
Top with Salsa Criolla
Fried Yuca and Rice on the side
*chocolate bar - added to the pot of stew. (See tip below at the end of the directions)
Directions:
Pre-Heat your oven to 300 degrees.
Roast dried potatoes in the oven 6 minutes until slightly brown. Put them in a bowl, cover with water and soak overnight.
The next day, cut the pork ribs into pieces of 5 x 5 cm and sprinkle with salt. Put peanuts in a mortar or Batan (Peruvian grinding stone) and shred them into a fine powder. Set aside.
Melt half the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and brown the pork on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Put the remaining butter in the pan with the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes, until the onions soften. Add the cloves, cinnamon, cumin, aji panca and liquefied aji amarillo, and salt and pepper. Sauté over low heat, stirring constantly for 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens and onion and aji are mixed well. Drain the potatoes and throw them in the pan with the pork and mix.
Pour the broth stir together and cover completely (add a little water if necessary). Bring to a boil and let simmer, uncovered, for 2 or 3 hours until meat is tender. Add the crushed peanuts and continue the cooking 30 more minutes. Taste the stew and correct for salt and pepper if necessary.
Serve over white rice in a bowl toped with salsa criolla, and a stick or two of fried Yuca.
*A special trick or tip is to add in a tiny bit of chocolate at the end. They have these candy bars that are peanuts and chocolate I broke of 4 small quarter size peices and added it to the stew. I've been told by peruvian friends that this is common and adds to the flavor.
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