Recipe: Anticuchos from Peru
Katinka Lansink Dodero inherited her love of Peruvian cuisine from her parents. In Mi casa Peru, she not only shares wonderful stories about this magical cuisine but also the tastiest recipes for colorful comfort food and cocktails that are easy to prepare. And wonderfully practical: with easy-to-find ingredients. These anticuchos skewers, made with beef heart, are a true traditional Peruvian delicacy.
Katinka: “These Peruvian skewers are traditionally made with beef heart, marinated in vinegar and spices, and barbecued. In the past, they were dismissed as inferior food, but today they are a delicacy for everyone. It is a pre-Columbian dish that experienced a revival during the Spanish colonial era. Slaves and servants were given meat offcuts, such as heart and liver, and they marinated these in the spices and ingredients they had on hand, along with a chili pepper. In the evenings, the women took to the streets to grill and sell the marinated skewers on old oil drums filled with charcoal. Beef heart may sound scary to many people, but when marinated it really is a delicacy, just as tender and flavorful as beef tenderloin. If you would rather not eat beef heart, I’ve included some alternatives below. Traditionally, my mother glazes the anticuchos with a brush made from a corn leaf. You absolutely must not call anticuchos satay, by the way; that’s sacrilege. Satay is the name for Indonesian skewers, while anticuchos are Peruvian grilled skewers…”
FavorFlav’s Sharon: “If someone had asked me beforehand whether I would like a piece of grilled beef heart, I would have politely declined. But I didn’t know what anticuchos meant, nor that they are unbelievably delicious. Spicy, juicy and incredibly tender. In Peru, they are grilled on the parilla, and eaten in large quantities in the capital Lima and Arequipa (Peru’s second city). I’d say: give it a try!”
How to make the anticuchos
- Clean the beef heart, trim away the veins and rinse it clean. Cut the heart into attractive, flat square pieces measuring
2.5 x 2.5 cm. - Mix all the marinade ingredients into a smooth sauce. Rub the oregano between your fingertips into the marinade to release more of its flavor. Gradually add water until the sauce is liquid enough for marinating; you do not need to use all the water.
- Place the pieces of heart in a bowl and pour over enough marinade to completely cover the meat. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator overnight. You can also marinate it for two hours, but I personally prefer the traditional overnight marinade because it makes the heart more tender.
- The next day, mix the salt, garlic and oil. In another bowl, mix the ají amarillo paste and mayonnaise for the topping. In yet another bowl, mix the flat-leaf parsley, salsa criolla and cherry tomatoes for the second topping.
- Light the barbecue or grill. A grill pan on the stovetop works perfectly too!
- Remove the marinated heart from the refrigerator and thread the pieces onto skewers. I usually put three or four pieces of heart on each skewer.
- Place the skewers on the hot barbecue or in the hot grill pan. Reserve the marinade. Grill the skewers over high heat, constantly brushing them generously with marinade as they cook. Turn them after 2 minutes. After another 2 minutes, when they are golden brown, they are ready. Be careful not to grill them for too long: they should be medium-rare, and heart tends to become tough quickly. Constantly glazing them keeps the anticuchos juicy and cooked inside without drying them out.
- Remove the skewers from the heat, sprinkle them with salt and pour over the oil topping, which makes them extra tender.
How to make the ají panca sauce
- Remove the membranes and seeds and rinse the peppers thoroughly. Soak the peppers in water for 12 hours. Change the water three times. Blend the chili peppers with the boiling water until you have a smooth paste. Strain the paste, spoon it into a sterilized jar and place it upside down in the refrigerator. This creates a vacuum in the jar and keeps the contents fresh for longer. The paste will keep for another 4 weeks. Once it has gone bad, mold will appear.
Tip: you can replace beef heart with cooked octopus, chicken thighs or halloumi! Prepare the chicken thighs in the same way as the beef heart. Fry the cooked octopus and fresh cheese for 4 minutes on each side at a lower temperature.
Title: Mi casa Peru
Author: Katinka Lansink Dodero
Price: €25
Publisher: Luitingh-Sijthoff
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