Tips for bolivian dishes
Two posts ago, my comments about bolivian soup inspired some inquiries. The question is whether peanuts need to be soaked overnight to cook them. Alexey, the great cook, always forgets to soak the peanuts overnight although our dear Nelly de Jordan suggests to do so in her book about Bolivian food. Once i did it for many hours and other times just as little as half an hour. To me it does not make such a difference as long as you blend it finely. Soups are not hard to do so you can try one of the recipes on internet yourself. Maybe the hardest part is to prevent the potatoes and the rice from sinking to the bottom of the pot and burning. When you put them (at the end) make sure there is enough water, stir and don't overcook!
Something that is relatively easy to make is papas a la huancaina. Doña Nelly (i have the book with me) suggests a tastier variation, that is to make the peanut sauce with grated cheese. I tried it with feta cheese and it was heavenly.
I am also lucky enough to find Yuca at the turkish market and try out some recipes. Other ingredients i bring back from Bolivia allow me to occasionally do some api and charque. Tongue and stomach are harder to find at the supermarket so i cannot make other Bolivian delicatessen that i love so much.
I just realized Eduardo has a section about Bolivian food. Go for a visit even if he does not like picante de lengua ;).
posted by Alexey @ 3:35 PM
4 Comments:
All that cooking sounds difficult. I'll just take the easy way out and order take out from my favorite Bolivian restaurant. Although I wonder, are there Bolivian restaurants in Belgium? (that's where you are from, right?)
Hello Eduardo! I come from Oruro, Bolivia (although the real story is much more intricated than that) and currently i live in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Unfortunately, i think there are no Bolivian restaurants in the Netherlands or in Belgium. But i heard that there are restaurants and even salteñerías in Germany!!!
Buen provecho!
Just to know that I am not going to have my favorite bolivian food around the corner, just killed me!
I am even tempted to ask my mom to come and cook for me =), of course you are also invited.
I have friends (not from Bolivia) whose mothers send them frozen home cooked dish. Oh wait a minute, actually I know someone from Bolivia who received a frozen picante. I haven't asked how good it was when it arrived. I don't know if i can ask my auntie to do me the favor :). I would vote for a picante de lengua or fricasé.
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