← Nouns Cooking · Brazilian & Peruvian

Ingredients

• 4 Rocoto peppers (or large red peppers), tops sliced off and kept, seeds and white veins removed
• 3 tbsp sugar, for the blanching water
• 3 tbsp white vinegar, for the blanching water
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 350 g beef mince (or finely diced beef)
• 1 tbsp Ají panca paste
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 40 g roasted peanuts, chopped
• 30 g Raisins
• 8 black olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 Eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
• 4 slices thick slices of queso fresco or mozzarella
• 120 ml Evaporated milk
• 1 egg, for the custard
• Salt

Method

1. Put the rocotos and their tops in a pan of water with 1 tbsp each of the sugar and vinegar, bring to the boil and cook for 5 min. Drain and repeat twice more with fresh water and the rest of the sugar and vinegar; this takes away most of the fierce heat.
2. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 6 min, until soft. Add the garlic, beef, ají panca, cumin and paprika and cook for 10 min, until browned and thick. Season, then stir in the peanuts, raisins and olives.
3. Stand the peppers in a small baking dish. Fill each with the beef, tuck in the chopped egg and top with a slice of cheese. Put the tops back on.
4. Whisk the evaporated milk with the egg and a pinch of salt and pour it around the peppers.
5. Bake for 25–30 min, until the cheese has melted and the custard is set and golden at the edges. Serve each pepper with some of the custard and boiled or gratin potatoes.

Tips

• Wear gloves when cleaning rocotos and keep your hands away from your eyes. Large red bell peppers make a mild version (skip the blanching).
• Contains peanuts.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Eat Peru Peru Delights