Beef Stew
Editor's Note: This recipe and introductory text are excerpted from The Exotic Kitchens of Peru, by Copeland Marks. We've also added some tips of our own below.
For a complete guide to Peruvian cuisine, click here.
This is a special dish that is only prepared on Mondays. My teacher told me that everyone she knew cooked Espesado on Mondays, a ritual that is universally accepted. In the clean and complete Central Market of Chiclayo, a number of the small eating shops were dispensing this to diners who knew what they wanted and expected it on Mondays.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
The Mush
The Meat
Preparation
Step 1
1. To make the mush: Process all the ingredients together in a food processor into a fine paste or mush. Set aside.
Step 2
2. To prepare the meat: bring the water to a boil in a large pan. Add the beef, salt, yuca, and fava beans (if used) and simmer, covered, over low heat until the meat is tender, about 45 minutes.
Step 3
3. Add the mush, mix well, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. (This results in a thick and substantial dish, perhaps even too thick, in which case 1/2 to 1 cup water may be added.) Mix well and adjust the salt to taste.
Step 4
Serve warm, with a side dish of Ceviche.
Extra! Tips from Epicurious:
Step 5
• This recipe is from the region of Chiclayo in northern Peru. The use of corn, squash, and beans reflects some of the country’s earliest food exchanges, when those ingredients were brought down from Central America and became important staples.
Step 6
• Zapallo is the Peruvian name for calabaza, a large, round, pumpkinlike squash. Wedges of calabaza are sold at Latin and Caribbean markets, but butternut is equally good here.
Recipe notes
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