Peruvian Food Recipes
Anticuchos de corazon (Marinated Beef heart)
This is one of our most popular dishes.
Some people are intimidated at first when attempting to eat beef heart, but once they try it, they are mostly surprised at how tasty they are. The following is one of the ways this tasty Peruvian dish can be prepared.
Ingredients and Utensils:
Serves: Twelve
- 2 Cow Hearts
- 2 tbsp. Aji Amarillo Paste (yellow pepper)
- 3 tbsp. Aji Panca Paste
- 1 tbsp. Ground Annato (achiote)
- 6 oz. Minced Garlic
- 1 tbsp. Ground Cumin
- 6 Corn ears boiled.
- 6 Potatoes boiled and sliced.
- 4 oz. Oil
- 1/2 cup red wine Vinegar
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp. dry Oregano
- Some 9" thin skewers.
Cooking Instructions:
- First clean the hearts very well from fat and nerves and any skin, leaving clear muscle only, this will make the anticuchos tender
- Cut the muscle in stripes of about 1 1/4 inch in width then cut the stripes in pieces of 2 inch long, let them drain in a strainer.
- Combine in a bowl big enough to hold all the heart pieces, the yellow pepper, panca, achiote, cumin, garlic, pepper and salt, start with 3 tbsp.
- Mix all together and add the heart pieces, combine all very well until all pieces are well coated.
- Mix the marinate, add the oil and combine again, cover and let marinate over night.
NEXT DAY
- Boil the corns in water with a tbsp. of sugar, keep them warm.
- Boil the potatoes, peel them and slice them in 5 or 6 slices, set them aside.
- While corn and potatoes are boiling, pierce the heart pieces longwise insert three or four pieces in each skewer (Keep all the marinate for cooking time)
- Place all skewered heart pieces in a rectangular plastic container.
- Get the grill ready, at medium heat, place on top your vegetable or fish screen (the one with the small perforations), when hot set the skewers side by side with the end towards you
- Do not cook them too long or the anticucho will be tough, never well done, medium well is perfect (no pink in center). This is about 1 1/2 minute per side, before turning brush with the marinate on top, turn and repeat the brushing.
- Set the potatoes slices on the grill on the back side of the anticucho and brush them with the marinate. Cook until golden brown.
- Serve anticuchos in platter, garnished by the golden brown potatoes slices and the corn ears cut in two.