Try many new things is his philosophy. He works with local and
imported Peruvian ingredients to create a vibrant menu ranging
from adobos with an Arabic influence to chifa dishes inspired by
the Chinese immigrants who came to Peru to build the railroads to
a dish of slow-roasted lamb shank braised in a cilantro/beer sauce.
Causa de Atun aleta Amarilla
Emmanuel Piqueras, Chef
Panca | New York
Yield: 8-10 servings
2 lbs. Peruvian yellow or Yukon
gold potatoes
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup lime juice
3 t. ají amarillo paste
Salt and fresh-ground black
pepper, to taste
4 green onions, white and green
parts, chiffonade, divided
Rocoto paste, to taste
1½ lbs. ahi yellowfin tuna
(center cut)
1 pinch chopped fresh ginger
5 t. soy sauce
2 t. toasted sesame seeds
½ t. mayonnaise
1 avocado, peeled, pitted,
sliced just before serving
1) Put potatoes in large hotel
pan with a dash of water and
salt; cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in preheated 350°F oven
for 35 minutes, or until fully
tender. When cool enough
to handle, peel. Put through
ricer or mash until smooth.
Add canola oil, lime juice, ají
amarillo paste, and salt and
fresh-ground black pepper.
Add chiffonade from 2 green
onions, a pinch of rocoto
paste and salt. Mix to achieve
uniformly smooth texture. Set
aside. 2) Cut ahi tuna into
small dice (tartare-style); mix
with ginger, remaining green
onion chiffonade, rocoto paste,
soy sauce, sesame seeds and
mayonnaise. Add salt and
pepper, as needed. 3) To serve:
Press potato dough halfway up
sides of 8-10 individual metal
ring molds, each measuring
2 inches in diameter by
approximately 2 inches high.
Place molds on serving plates,
carefully remove rings. Top with
tuna tartare and avocado slices.
“What drew me to Peruvian cuisine was the breadth and diversity
of the cuisine, ranging from ancient Incan to novo,” Costello
says. “And the owners of the restaurant have generously sent
me to Lima, where I had the opportunity to cook at six different
restaurants, learning the subtleties of the cuisine.”
Andina’s menu includes the traditional street foods of Lima,
including anticuchos (kebabs of beef heart and chicken marinated
in vinegar and cooked over charcoal, traditionally brushed with
a hot sauce of chile and ground annatto seeds) and sustainable-seafood-based ceviche and tiradito. Because Costello limits the
time that the fish is in contact with the citrus juice, he is careful
to use only fish that does not require being frozen to kill off
potentially harmful bacteria. “We adhere strictly to the policies
about sustainability of fish and seafood set forth by the Monterey
Bay Aquarium and import fish from Hawaii or other U.S. fisheries
in addition to what can be sourced locally,” he says.
Costello contracts with local growers to cultivate herbs, peppers and
potatoes that would otherwise be imported from Peru. “For instance,
the ozette potato, with its earthy, nutty flavor, which we use and
which is grown in Oregon, is the only Peruvian potato grown outside
Peru that has not been tampered with or modified in any way. The
Peruvian black mint, huacatay, is also being grown in Oregon, and is
an herb I love to use as a flavoring in dishes both sweet and savory.”
MELTING POT
Emmanuel Piqueras, chef at New York’s Panca, says, “Although
I think New York City is the best place in the world to spread the
culture and culinary styles of all kinds of cuisine, the economy in
2008 made me turn toward traditional and simple Peruvian food.”
In his “little piece of Peru in Manhattan,” Piqueras also explores
the melting pot of cuisines that is true Peruvian cooking. His
upbringing along the coast of Peru has led to a seafood-intensive
menu at Panca, but inspired by Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, chef/
owner of the celebrated Malabar in Lima, his interests extend,
as well, to exploring the Amazonian jungle region and the richly
biodiverse array of ingredients growing there.
Of the same generation as Piqueras, Jose Duarte, owner of
Taranta in Boston’s historically Italian North End district,
is aware of the need for environmental protection in Peru’s
growing regions, particularly its coastal waters. “With a cuisine
so heavily dependent on a constant supply of fish and seafood,
