Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Welcome to my first blog. Thanks to Francine I take you on a culinary journey through my country of birth Peru! Peru has beautiful cities, breathtaking landscapes and archaeological sites. Peru is also known as one of the best cuisines in the world. Because the country has so many different climate zones, the cuisine is extremely varied. The Andes, desert, coastal strip and Amazon all have their own influence on Peruvian cuisine. The Causa Limena recipe is easy to make and quickly on the table.
Thanks to the biodiversity and influence of different cultures, including Japanese and Spanish, the cuisine is very diverse. A tasteful fusion that the whole world should discover. Peru has it all! In this first blog I give you the recipe for a delicious vegetarian Peruvian Causa Limeña.
We start in Lima
Take a fantastic look at Lima City. Lima is the capital of Peru and is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean (Pacific coast). Lima is actually in a desert and there is hardly any rain. This beautiful coastal city is full of gastronomic discoveries. This includes Michelin-starred chef Virgilio Martínez. He is the owner of the Peruvian restaurant Central in Lima.
It is number 5 in the 50 best restaurants in the world! The Netflix series Chef's Table devoted an entire episode to this special man. The capital has several nice neighborhoods to stay in. Most tourists prefer to stay in Miraflores, Barranco or San Isidro. Those are definitely my favorite neighborhoods in Lima.
Hip neighborhoods and the heart of Lima
With breathtaking ocean views and the best restaurants, Miraflores is the heart of Lima. And it is also the most touristic area of Lima. Barranco, on the other hand, is the bohemian quarter, with an artistic atmosphere. Here you will find countless coffee shops and some of the best nightclubs and bars in the city. It's also a great place to experience old colonial Lima while staying in a charming boutique hotel. San Isidro is a business district and one of the best places to shop in Lima.
Growing up in Lima
Together with my family I have always enjoyed cozy and tasty food at our home or with relatives. It became a celebration at every family reunion. We always started the Sunday with an extensive breakfast. This looked like lunch. For example, my mom served tamales and chicharron and they were delicious! After that the party went on and for the (late) lunch we went to a restaurant for Ceviche with arroz con Mariscos and Jalea. And before we went to dinner in the evening, we first ate a Lonchecito, a fine dining culture you might say!
“Lonche” or “Lonchecito” as we usually call it, is a special and timeless tradition of our culinary culture. “Lonche” is actually a tradition that dates back to the colonial era in which Peru lived. It is very similar to the English tea time moment or the Spanish “merienda”. It is usually scheduled for the late afternoon around 17.30:18.00 PM - XNUMX:XNUMX PM; it usually continues as the conversation grows. So there were long “Lonchecitos” with beautiful stories and lots of laughter. But sometimes also concerned conversations about the economic and political situation of Peru. Fortunately, we ended our conversations with a lot of hope. My father's optimism and positivity and my mother's love brought us peace again. So Lonchecitos are a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and family.
Peruvian cuisine
Do you want to discover the delicious Peruvian cuisine? Then Lima is the perfect place for that! A nice way to get acquainted with Peruvian cuisine is through exquisitoperu, a tour organization that offers food tours in Lima. They have several tours, such as walking Food Tours through the artsy and bohemian Barranco. Or a cool evening tour with street food and old taverns in the historic center of Lima and Lima Gourmet Night: Peruvian Biodiversity Food Experience.
During a culinary tour you will not only taste Peruvian cuisine. You will also learn more about its history. There is plenty to choose from cheap restaurants, fine street food to luxurious star restaurants. Lima has it all, you can immerse yourself in the Peruvian atmosphere here.
Vegetarian Peruvian Causa Limeña
In my first blog I want to share with you one of my favorite dishes, namely the Vegetarian Causa Limena. Causa Limena is an appetizer that is very popular in Peru. The dough is made with mashed potatoes, ají amarillo paste, lime juice, oil and salt and is served with a delicious filling of usually tuna salad, chicken salad or a vegetable salad.
As long as you keep the causa mashed potatoes traditional. You can go in all directions with the filling such as vegetarian, meat, fish. One thing I can tell you once you start this starter you may never want to stop. Buen Provecho!
Here you will find the complete recipe with all the ingredients you need. I hope you have fun preparing the dish below.
Vegetarian Peruvian Causa Limeña
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Ingredients:
- 8 floury potatoes - peeled
- 2 el aji amarillo pasta - from Taste Peru
- 2 avocados
- 100 gram boiled peas
- 100 gram boiled carrots - in cubes
- 100 gram boiled red beets - in cubes
- 2 el celery - finely chopped
- 100 gram corn kernels
- 6 el lime juice
- 3 el mayonnaise
- 4 el olive oil
Nice and easy: click on the logo of your favorite supermarket to add the ingredients.
And this is how you make it:
- Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes until they are soft. Mash the potatoes fine and smooth. There should be no pieces left. For perfectly smooth puree, I use a fork myself.
- Mix the mashed potatoes with "Taste Peru" aji amarillo paste, lime juice, oil and some salt. It gets a beautiful yellow color because of the paste.
- Take a bowl and add the carrots, beetroot, celery, corn and mix together with the mayonnaise. Season with some salt and pepper.
- Make a tower using a cooking ring. Place the cooking ring in the center of a plate. First put in a smooth and even layer of mashed potatoes. Followed by avocado slices, then a layer of vegetable salad and finally another layer of mashed potatoes. Then carefully pull the cooking ring upwards.
- As extras, you can decorate the top of the tower with, for example, extra strips of tomato, slices of boiled egg or an avocado rose.
- Delicious bites!
this blog Vegetarian Peruvian Causa Limeña is a contribution of Mariela from Taste Peru. More Peruvian inspiration? Then be sure take a look at her blog.
Delicious Happen is a multi-media company, so you can also find me on various social media. follow me on Facebook, Pinterest en Instagram under @delicioushappen. If you make this recipe I would love it if you tagged me #delicioushappen. A comment below in the comments is also nice of course!
This reminds me of summer ☀️
Delicious!