Peru - Chicharrones Sandwich with Salsa Criolla

Background
The major influences on Peruvian cuisine are the Inca and the Spanish. Japanese and Chinese influence came later, a result of immigration in the 19th century. Potatoes are native to this region (1,000 varieties) and are a cornerstone of the cuisine. Quinoa is the other major starch contributed by this region. The Spanish conquest brought in European flora and fauna, greatly increasing the variety in the diet. The collapse of the Spanish Empire and Peru's independence resulted in an open immigration policy and growth in diversity in metropolitan areas. In addition to the ethnic diversity, Peru has a large quantity of regional variation.

Finding recipes Peruvian recipes was very easy. We found three fantastic books that provide great recipes and information. The Art of Peruvian Cuisine has great background reading and a wonderful section explaining and showing novel ingredients. Eat Smart in Peru is a compact guide to the cuisine with a balance of information and recipes. We ended up using The Exotic Kitchens of Peru because it had the recipes we needed.

None of the books mentioned breakfast directly, so I asked a Peruvian friend for her advice. She recommended a few dishes, and we settled on sandwiches of chicharrones served with salsa criolla. Chicharrones are fried pork, and salsa criolla contains hot peppers and aji amarillo chilies. We were unable to locate whole aji amarillos, but we found them as jarred paste which we could substitute. I was not able to find any specific information on the sandwich bread but photos I saw online had rolls with thick crusts. The drink for breakfast is coffee.

Chicharrones de Chancho (Crispy Pork Cubes)

• 1 lb pork spare ribs, cut into 2 inch sections
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp oil

1. Mix all ingredients except oil in a bowl and let marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a skillet on low.
3. Add the pork and fry at low temperatures for about 30 minutes.
4. The pork is done then the meat is brown and crisp with all of the fat cooked off.
5. Drain pieces over paper towels and serve as soon as possible.

Salsa Criolla

• 2 cups red onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp chopped/paste aji amarillo, remove seeds if chopping.
• 3-4 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1. Combine all ingredients by hand, or
2. Pulse all ingredients in a food processor to make a coarse salsa.
3. Serve immediately.

Results and Discussion
The red onions give the salsa a very sharp taste. The lime adds a sour flavor and the cilantro gives a nice accent. The heat and sweet flavor from the aji amarillo were subtle but nice. The peppers added less heat than I expected. The paste eaten raw packs real punch.
And fried pork is plain good. Pork fried to the point that the fat becomes really crispy and has that concentrated blast of salt is even better. In the future I might cook them at a slightly higher heat as some of the fat did not get as crispy as it could have been. We used pork spare ribs but pork roast was another option. I would use pork roast in the future since it was much easier to cut up. (OK, again, Kitty totally disagrees, rib meat is way better than pork roast for this.) Getting meat off the ribs was a little annoying. (Whatever.)