Peruvian Kebabs: Anticuchos

Peru, located in western South America, is a former colony of Spain that gained independence in 1821. Most Peruvians speak Spanish, but there are also minorities of the population that use various Amerindian languages as their primary forms of speech. One of those Amerindian languages is "Quechua," pronounced as if, "ketch-oo-wah" (others say, "ketch-wah"). It is a language family in South America, best known as the language of the Incas. Another prominent Amerindian language family is "Aymara" (pronounced like "eye-mahrah"), which is spoken in parts of Peru and in some neighboring countries.

If you've never had beef heart, please don't be intimidated by it. It is delicious! If you are too skittish, you can substitute some steak, like chuck steak. Aji panca (pronounced like, "ah-hee pahncah") is a paste (sauce) made from a type of red chili pepper. It is not terribly hot, but rather it gives a little kick to foods. It is deep red in color. Aji amarillo is another paste, but it is made from a yellow chili pepper with a bit more heat. Aji panca is often in supermarkets or Latino grocers, and you may find aji amarillo also, but it is not as common. For the aji panca, you could substitute some ancho chili powder, some paprika, a little water and a pinch of cayenne pepper or a few drops of chili pepper sauce mixed together to form a paste, but if you can find aji panca (definitely available online), you'll be rewarded by the wonderful flavor, and a little heat. These Peruvian kebabs are called "anticuchos" (also, "anticuchos de curazon") in Spanish and they are very common in Peru, with street vendors selling them too.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds of beef heart
1/2 cup aji panca paste (or substitute mentioned above) 
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
skewers for cooking

Trim the heart of fat and vessels, then cut the heart into about 1 to 2 inch pieces, and about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness. Mix together the chili paste, red wine vinegar, garlic, dried oregano, cumin and salt. Add the pieces of beef heart to the mixture, cover, refrigerate and let marinate for a minimum of 2 or 3 hours, but up to 12 hours is better. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water first. You can grill the anticuchos on a charcoal or gas grill, turning them often, and cooking them for anywhere from about 5 to 8 minutes, depending upon desired doneness, or you can broil the anticuchos. Arrange the anticuchos on a baking sheet and broil about 5 to 6 inches from the heat. Turn the anticuchos once or twice during broiling. Broil for "about" 5 to 10 minutes, depending upon desired doneness. Serve with aji amarillo paste (sauce), chopped green onions, boiled potato slices, boiled or grilled corn on the cob pieces.

Boiled potato pieces and small pieces of corn are commonly served with Anticuchos, as well as some sauces, like aji amarillo and some green onions.

I enjoy both of these wonderful chili pastes/sauces, which are not only different in color, but also in heat and flavor. There are other brand names of both.

WORD HISTORY:
Mere-This is the noun, as English has two words of this spelling, but they seem to come from different sources. It is related to "marsh," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and it goes back to Indo European "mori," which meant, "body of water, sea." This gave Old Germanic "mari," meaning, "lake, sea," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "mere" (ending "e" then was likely pronounced as "eh/ah"), with the same meanings. The word has remained, especially in place names that were (or still are) located near a body of water, more typically with reference to a lake. The Germanic form is related to forms in Latin, Celtic and some other branches of Indo European and languages spawned by those branches (for instance, Italian has "mare," French has "mer" and Spanish and Portuguese have "mar," all from Latin). The Germanic languages have: German "Meer" (sea), Low German Saxon "Meer" (lake), West Frisian "mar" (lake), Dutch "meer" (lake), Icelandic "mar," now antiquated (sea), Norwegian "marbakke" (seashore slope).