Category: Snacks
Anticuchos Without Heart
Ingredients:
mirasol chiles
cumin seeds
garlic
sea salt
white wine vinegar
aubergine
sweet potato
parsley root
plantains
These don't taste or even look that much like the original, but they are very picante, anyway.
First, you'll need fifty grams or so of chiles mirasol. These dried capsicum/chile peppers come from Perú, but are readily available one way or another. There really isn't a substitute, although in a pinch one would expect that chiles mulatos or pasillas from México would do. The colour would be different, though.
Wipe the outsides of the peppers with a damp cloth. Slit each one and remove seeds and stem. Set the flesh to reconstitute in as small amount of water as will rehydrate it. Overnight is not too long, and at least a few hours are needed.
Crush a half-teaspoon of cumin seeds and six cloves of garlic along with a pinch of sea salt in the mortar. Add all the drained mirasols and grind to a paste. Add two tablespoons of white wine vinegar, one at a time, and mix them in well with the pestle.
Rinse a small firm aubergine (eggplant) and slice it cross-wise into even pieces about one centimeter thick. Cut each of these into six wedges. Set them into a colander, and sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt. Mix well, but gently. Let them weep for two hours, then rinse with cold water, drain, and dry on a towel.
Scrub and pare a medium sweet potato and a small parsley root. Cut each of these into wedge-shaped slices similar to those of the aubergine. Sprinkle the cut vegetables with a few drops of white wine vinegar to keep them from bruising.
Soak a handful of bamboo skewers in salted water for half an hour. Thread an alternating series of aubergine, sweet potato and parlsey root onto each one.
Set the skewers in one layer in a low glass or ceramic pan of a suitable shape and brush with the mirasol preparation. Use a pastry brush to anoint the vegetables well. Leave covered for several hours to marinate. Turn and brush with the marinade once or twice during this period.
Prepare a charcoal fire and heat your grate well. When the coals are covered with grey ash grill your skewers four fingers width above them. Baste twice with the marinade during the grilling. Grill several large peeled ripe plantains as well, until they are well marked and soft. Cut these into diagonal pieces to help put out the fire. Serve both on a napkin with cocktails.
Avocado, plain, with lemon, on the side is nice.
Notes:
This is a spicy little dish.
Recipe Index
More Savouries:
Broiled Grapefruit | Squashelottes | Roasted Vegetables | Braise of Onions, Leeks and Shallots | Chayotes in Pepitas | Mushroom Fried Rice | Braised Parsnips and Peas |
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