The Fire of Peru
Recipes and Stories from My Peruvian Kitchen
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"The godfather of Peruvian cuisine" captures the flavors and excitement of his native food, from rustic stews to specialty dishes to fabulous cocktails.
Lima-born Los Angeles chef and restaurateur Ricardo Zarate delivers a standout cookbook on the new "it" cuisine—the food of Peru. He perfectly captures the spirit of modern Peruvian cooking, which reflects indigenous South American foods as well as Japanese, Chinese, and European influences, but also balances that variety with an American sensibility. His most popular dishes range from classic recipes (such as ceviche and Pisco sour) to artfully crafted Peruvian-style sushi to a Peruvian burger. With 100 recipes (from appetizers to cocktails), lush color photography, and Zarate's moving and entertaining accounts of Peru's food traditions and his own compelling story, The Fire of Peru beautifully encapsulates the excitement Zarate brings to the American dining scene.
"Ricardo is a great chef and a person with a point of view in his cooking. When you taste his food, you not only taste Peru, but you taste an unmistakable flavor that is totally him."—Roy Choi, chef and author of L.A. Son
"Not your usual crop of Tex-Mex recipes at all! You will enjoy The Fire of Peru with both the food and the insights into Peruvian culture. Our world is far broader than we often imagine."—HuffPost
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Zarate's come a long way from his humble upbringing in a rough area of Lima, Peru, but his strong family ties and an obsession with cooking eventually led to his opening the popular restaurants Picca, Mo Chica, and Paiche. Working his way up from dishwasher to owner gave Zarate insight into the intricacies of restaurant operations, as well as exposure to a wide variety of cooking styles that found their way into his cuisine in dishes like cauliflower steaks with yuzu kosho-aji sauce; a Peruvian riff on cassoulet; and parmesan scallops with spinach and Peruvian bechamel. He tells the stories behind his dishes while instructing readers how to make them, resulting in too much text: Zarate's recipes for causas, a classic Peruvian potato casserole, spans four dense pages. While most of his dishes aren't terribly complex in terms of technique, many call for very specific spices, such as aji panca and aji Amarillo pastes, and accompanying sauces or condiments requiring additional work. There are plenty of accessible recipes, too: Incan potato, pork and peanut stew with mint chimichurri, for example, and mini green tamales with wild mushroom sauce. Highlights are his tips for making the perfect steamed rice and whipping up a classic pisco sour.
