Peruvian Fish Ceviche: Ceviche Peruano

"Peruvian Fish Ceviche"* is the national dish of Peru; but as such, there is no one recipe; thus, there are variations in the type of fish and chili pepper used, although there can be other variations. Also, the "side dish" of corn (maize) is most typically white corn, but often of the large kernel type, something that is not easily found outside Peru. Some people remove these large kernels from the cobs and then fry or toast them for this dish. The lime juice marinade "cooks" the raw fish in just a few minutes; so, you want to keep the fish pieces relatively small for the lime to penetrate the flesh of the fish. The chili pepper adds a bit of zest to the dish, without being mouth scorching.  

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

1 to 1 1/4 pounds halibut or sea bass, cut into bite size pieces 

1 red onion (baseball size), sliced into rings then cut into thirds or quarters

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 habanero chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped

juice from 8 to 10 limes (more if needed to completely cover the fish)

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro (known to some as coriander), chopped

2 ears of white (or yellow or bicolor) corn on the cob (boiled or grilled)

2 sweet potatoes, sliced (1/3 inch thick)

butter lettuce (Bibb lettuce is a type of butter lettuce)

Rinse the fish under cold running water, then cut it into bite size pieces and put the pieces to soak for ten minutes in a bowl of cold water. In another bowl of cold water with a pinch of salt, put the onion slices to soak. Drain both the fish and the onions well. Put the fish and onions into a bowl, then add the minced garlic, finely chopped chili pepper, salt and lime juice (you need to have enough lime juice to completely cover the fish pieces). Mix well (I do it by hand), cover the bowl and let the fish marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Cook the corn on the cob in some boiling water, likewise with the sweet potato slices (you can also grill the corn and sweet potato slices, if you like grilling). Cut the corn cobs into pieces of about 2 to 3 inches each. To serve: Place some butter lettuce on part of each plate and top the lettuce with some of the ceviche. Add a couple of slices of sweet potato and a piece a corn on the cob to each plate.

* "Ceviche" is also spelled "seviche" and "cebiche," and in the Spanish of Spain, the latter is considered proper. By the way, while there are theories as to the origins of the word, regardless of how you spell it, the word's history is very difficult, and at this time, I prefer to say its origin is "unknown."

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Halibut-This word for a particular type of flatfish is a compound of "holy" ^ and "butt" (flatfish), with the "holy" part added as the fish was often eaten on holy days. English has several words of the spelling "butt,"^^ although as it is used in the fish name, this version is related to the same form that gave English "buttock," as its general meaning is "the end piece (of something), often the thick end piece," and it is related to the word "beat," a word from the Germanic roots of English. This form "butt" goes back to Indo European "bheud/bhaud," which meant "to beat, to strike." This "supposedly" gave Old Germanic "butt," meaning "flatfish," although I'm more than a little skeptical about there ever having been such an Old Germanic word with the flatfish meaning; rather, I believe such a word was derived from the Old Germanic form that gave us "buttock;" that is, "but(t)a(n)," meaning, "that which is cut off," or, "the end piece, the short piece." It is interesting that "apparently" Anglo-Saxon (Old English) did not have a form of the word (this is one of the reasons I don't believe there ever was an Old Germanic form that referred to the flatfish), although it's always possible there was an unrecorded form of the word, and if true, it certainly wasn't prominent, which seems odd for these seafaring Germanic tribes from what is now the coastal areas of northern Germany, the northern Netherlands and southern Denmark, where fish, including various flatfish, were plentiful. After all, fairly large numbers of people from these tribes picked up and sailed to Briton. Old English seems to have used "flóc" to mean certain types of flatfish. "Butt," in reference to flatfish, appears in English around 1300, seemingly a borrowing from its close cousin Low German "butte." "Halibut" is from the late 1300s or early 1400s (it seems to have initially been "holibut," in English), when eating fish replaced the consumption of typical animal meat on certain Christian holy days. This seems to have been borrowed from the then Low German form "hellebütt."^^^ Relatives in the modern Germanic languages: German has "Heilbutt," initially as "heiligebutt," borrowed from the Low German form "hilligbutt," but then contracted to the modern form with influence from Low German "hellebütt" and Dutch "heilbot" (which is still the modern form). The North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages do not have forms of "halibut" nor of "butt," another reason why I don't believe there ever was an Old Germanic form (Note: Swedish once had "but/butta," but this was a borrowing from Low German). Unfortunately, the Brothers Grimm shed no light on these difficult words, as their entry is very sparse.        

^ For the history of "holy," this is the link to the article: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/08/german-question-part-one-hundred-twenty_47.html

 

^^ Several of the forms of "butt" are likely related, as most forms are from Germanic.  

^^^ It is important to remember, there is no standard Low German language, but rather there are dialects classified as being Low German. Hundreds of years ago, especially, most languages were developing standard forms, but dialects with different spellings and pronunciations were more the rule, rather than the exception; thus, lots of spelling variations. 

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).  

Peruvian Potatoes In Creamy & Spicy Sauce

This is a common Peruvian dish called "Papas a la Huancaina" ("Potatoes of Huancayo") in Spanish. Huancaina refers to the city of "Huancayo," which is located in the middle part of Peru.
 
Ingredients (about 6 servings):

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (I used the golf ball size potatoes)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 heaping teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound queso blanco, crumbled*
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or, if you're ambitious, 1 teaspoon Amarillo chili paste **
3/4 cup canned evaporated milk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pitted cured black olives
hard boiled eggs, halved
red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into rings or strips
lettuce leaves

Wash and rinse the unpeeled potatoes, then put them into a pan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, so that the potatoes simmer until just tender, but NOT mushy or ready to crumble. Let the potatoes cool a bit, if you want to peel them, but I prefer to leave the skins on. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for two or three minutes before adding the turmeric and cayenne pepper (or chili paste), stir well. Cook for just one minute. Turn the heat to low and add the evaporated milk. Let the milk heat briefly (do not boil!) and add the cheese. Stir to mix well and continue stirring slowly until the cheese melts. Now stir in the mustard, salt and pepper. The sauce should be yellowish. You can put the sauce into a blender or use a stick blender to make the sauce very smooth. Place a lettuce leaf on each plate and serve some potato slices on the lettuce. Spoon some of the sauce over the potatoes, then top the potatoes with a few cured black olives, hard boiled egg halves and a couple of yellow bell pepper rings.

* Queso blanco is literally "white cheese," which it is, but it can vary somewhat in texture and taste from country to country. It is a mild fresh cheese with a salty and slightly tangy kind of taste and it generally crumbles pretty easily, and that is the type most used in Peru, where it is extremely common. Queso blanco is easily available in many supermarkets and Latino grocery stores, and some likely even have Peruvian queso blanco, if you seek authenticity.

 

** Amarillo chili paste is often available in Latino grocery stores, or in Latino food sections of some supermarkets, as well as from online sources.

WORD HISTORY:
Prompt-This compound word is formed with the fairly common Latin prefix "pro," meaning "in front, before, forward," which is related, through Indo European, to English "fore" and the prefix "for-," which are original English terms from its Germanic roots. The second part goes back to Indo European "em," which had the notion, "to take, to take on." This gave Latin "emere," meaning, "to take by acquisition;" thus also, "to buy." The two parts gave Latin "promere," meaning, "to take or bring forth, to bring into the open." Its participle form was "promptus," which meant, "evident, visible," and this gave Latin-based French the adjective "prompt," but with the meaning, "ready, quick" (from the idea of "brought forth, made visible"). English borrowed the word in verb form as "prompten" from Latin in the mid 1300s, and meaning, "to lead (bring) someone to do something." By the 1400s, the additional meaning of, "to help someone recall words in a play" ("to help them bring forth words") was added. The adjective form seems to have been borrowed from French (perhaps with Latin reinforcement?) in the first half of the 1400s, with the meaning, "quick, ready to do something," which then also provided the meaning, "on time," as in, "Please be prompt for work."