The Fire of Peru: Recipes and Stories from My Peruvian Kitchen

by Ricardo Zarate, Jenn Garbee

Popular L.A. chef Ricardo Zarate captures the flavors and excitement of Peruvian 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. Zarate has been called "the godfather of Peruvian cuisine" for good 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.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Travel

276 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2015

Reviews

[Carol Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ran into this book in a winery gift shop and was instantly hooked by the photos and unique flavor profile. I don't review cookbooks unless I make at least 10 recipes. By my count, I've already made 20 in just a few short months. That alone is a testament to how great this cookbook is.

Yes, there are a lot of sauces involved with this cuisine. Yes, you will need to source a few frequently used specialty ingredients ahead of time (I mail ordered). Yes, there are sometimes sub-recipes of sub-recipes that require annoying page-flipping. But if you read the recipe in advance and prep the sauces a day or two beforehand, you'll be in good shape for the day of. I often ended up with extra sauce and popped it into the freezer for convenient future use. These recipes are all about the sauces. And they're sooo tasty and readily adaptable to incorporating into daily use beyond this cookbook.

It's pretty much all been a flavor explosion. The only recipe I was truly disappointed in was the rotisserie chicken as the marinade flavor didn't take at all, but I also didn't truly follow the recipe. I didn't sous-vide - cooking in plastic is just not my thing, seems creepy and carcinogenic.

What I've made:

Main:
- shrimp dumplings with soy-lime sauce & rocoto oil (yum!)
- mixed seafood ceviche with aji amarillo tiger's milk (yum!)
- grilled tuna steaks with roasted red papper anticucho sauce
- grilled Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken (meh)
- Peruvian-style burger with aji amarillo yogurt & pickled cucumbers (yum but messy)
- Peruvian beef stir-fry with red onions, tomatoes, scallions & cilantro (made 2x and will continue to make regularly)
- braised lamb with seco sauce & canario beans (easy and fantastic)
- warm vegetable quinoa salad with miso-lime dressing (can really play with this one, conceptually)

Sauces (all easy and great and useful beyond the immediate recipe):
- anticucho sauce
- roasted red bell pepper anticucho sauce
- aji amarillo-cumin yogurt sauce (yum and super simple, will be putting into regular rotation for use on just about everything. Just give it a day or two in the fridge for the flavors to meld)
- saltado sauce
- cilantro-beer seco braise
- miso-lime dressing

Sub-recipes:
- Pureed garlic (useful for so much; store extra in freezer)
- aji amarillo leche de tigre

Sides:
- quick pickles
- confit garlic (yum! the flavored oil is an extra bonus)
- canarios beans

Beverages:
- avocado daiquiri (thin it a bit and first strain it into a pourable container before pouring into serving glasses)

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and pretty accessible for U.S.-based cooking (it helps that we have a Peruvian store nearby where we can buy aji amarillo and panca paste). It's also helpful for learning how to "cook Peruvian" in general.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is one of the better versions here for
Lomo Saltado: Peruvian Beef Stir-Fry

There's a bit argument if it should be in a wok or a skillet
and if settlng the oil vapors on fire, with the risky flames
can add a smoky flavor, or if it gives burnt oil and a rotten taste
(which is argued about quite a bit in various dishes)

And this dish is interesting because some set the oil on fire for 2-3 foot flames for a bit (not the best in most kitchens), and others use a blowtorch as being much more preferable, and others don't and believe getting the meat cooked properly is what matters.

and then there is the alcohol, usually pisco brandy added with a safer flambe with the alcohol (depends on the amount of oil and when you do it)

My take is usually outside of flambe, that setting on fire is usually to show off, and chefs that don't have to clean the pots, and usually sloppy technique as well as rushing things. But yeah you can still argue that some burnt 'can be good' as long as you don't fuck up the oil and getting it burnt, because usually it's a failure in many dishes.

I tend to think that it really really depends on seeing the exact recipe, and how precise it is for getting the meat done a certain way, and it explains enough about the oil, and what flavors with the char.

I'll say that the for this dish, and Zarate's explanations it's one of the better ones for no setting the oil on fire, and the pisco flambe is optional.

Other recipes go nuts about the french fries, how some need to be crisp, and some will marinate half the chips in the sauce for a minute, and the others are meant to be extra crispy

and some will even say if the fries are over the food, only put enough fries on top that people would normally eat asap, and the rest are surrounding the main parts of the dish, because theu will eventually get soggy and not so great.

Here are the ingredients

1 pound beef tenderloin or skirt steak, sliced into 2-by-½-inch strips
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large red onion (10 ounces), cut into 12 thin wedges
2 aji amarillo chiles - seeded and sliced into thin strips [Fresno or Banana peppers are okay]
2 medium tomatoes (10 ounces), cut into eighths
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari - preferably low-sodium
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons pisco (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)

8 ounces cooked french fries, for serving
2 cups cooked white rice, for serving

And the selling point are the cooking instructions

Season the beef with the salt. In a wok or large skillet over high heat, add the oil and heat until it just begins to smoke. Add the beef and sear until it’s deeply caramelized, about 2 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium-high. With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Add the onions to the same skillet and cook, stirring, until they begin to soften and their edges darken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chiles, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, the vinegar, soy sauce or tamari and a few cracks of pepper. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes and chiles have softened, about 2 minutes.

Return the beef and any accumulated juices to the wok or skillet and toss gently to combine. Reduce the heat to low. If using the pisco, add it and then use a long-handled lighter to ignite the sauce. Let it burn briefly to let the alcohol evaporate. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the remaining parsley and the lime juice.

Toss with the french fries, and serve family-style, with rice on the side.

---

because of all the fighting over the oil and the beef and the fries
this recipe got me curious recently
and well this one seems like one of the most careful

and very very good for getting the meat right
(damn the flame freaks)

[Beth]

This was a re-read for me cause it's been a while since I last made recipes from it. But it was a pleasure to re-acquaint myself with it. It's a great book to introduce you to Peruvian cooking & also for those who want to explore some fusion dishes as well since some of the recipes includes are ones the chef has learned in his travels around the world & also in (now) US home.

[Dray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a good Peruvian cookbook. The author does a good job of sampling the diverse recipes from many areas of Peru. There is particular attention paid to sauces and flavorings. The book is meat based but there are good vegetarian takeaways. i am always a little surprised at the Japanese influence in current Peruvian cooking. Worth reading.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been perusing a number of cookbooks recently that combine recipes and history of a place or people group... in this instance the recipe book centers around Peru. I enjoy learning about a culture through the food they eat.

[Donald A Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious Peruvian Food

Enjoyed reading about how to make some of my favorite Peruvian recipes.
Inspired to try some other intriguing recipes. Married 45 years to a Peruvian women who has made many of these classics . really really good food

[Aasinathena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book ! So many recipes and fiery sauces !! Can;t wait to cook !

[Melissa Joulwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos, first-rate recipes, strong prose about the culture and history of Peru.

[Ruth Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could get more copies of this cookbook, I would have used it for Dish!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend Kevin asked me about this book, and while I was distantly familiar with Zarate, I've never been to his restaurant, and didn't know about the book. But I've heard great things about the restaurant, and I thought, what the heck, let me take a look at the book. Now, to some extent, it's just another Peruvian cookbook to add to the dozen or more that I already have on my shelf. There aren't any truly stunning recipes, or things that I suddenly discovered about Peruvian food that I'd never known before. And to be honest, it's not as well researched, particularly in the history of the influences of various cultures, both indigenous and the heavy Chinese and Japanese bent in modern Peruvian cooking as I might like. He gets some details just plain wrong. But what made it of particular interest was the varied personal anecdotes about growing up in, and visiting Lima, and the food scene there. Perhaps it was a simple matter of timing, with reading this just prior to my recent trip there, but it added to my list of things to see, try, and places to go, that I otherwise likely would have missed. For that alone, it was worth the read. And if you don't have a cornucopia of Peruvian cookbooks on your shelf, it's certainly a worthwhile one to add to your collection.

[BookTrib.com]

Ricardo Zarate knows Peruvian food, and in this cookbook, he’s bringing it to his readers’ kitchens. Are you hankering for some Peruvian-style sushi? No sweat. For our complete review - and for more delicious, foodie-inspired reads - click here! https://booktrib.com/2017/07/cook-way...

[VJ]

The writing drives me nuts - cloying. Looking forward to trying the recipes (though many ask for ají amarillo, panca &/or rococo, which are not super easy to find).