“The future of gastronomy is being cooked up in Peru.” — Ferran Adria
If you haven’t tried Peruvian food before, get ready for one of the most amazing soups you’ll ever taste. This is a hearty and extremely satisfying (some even say aphrodisiac) dish — a rich, creamy shrimp stock fortified with yellow potatoes and cob corn, brightened with green peas and fresh shrimp, seasoned with Peruvia aji panca and aji amarillo chilies, and topped with queso fresco and a fried egg.
$12 (tax-in)
Sorry, no vegetarian option tonight, but the meal is gluten-free
Plus fresh-baked pie! $4
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Len Senater is the founder and proprietor of The Depanneur, who happily cooks for his friends and neighbours every Tuesday night.
Would love to come, but can’t tonight… do you ever share recipes? I think I had this soup in Bogata, Colombia, years ago, and it is spectacular.
Hi Andrea,
I used a mash-up of these two recipes (1 & 2)
I was able to find jarred aji panca and aji amarillo pastes at a Azteca, Latin food store on Bloor at Dufferin. I didn’t have achiote oil, so I just used some achiote paste (available at the same shop) and olive oil. I found the soup very rich, and ended up using a lesser amount of the evaporated milk. I used Santa Lucia fresh Portuguese cheese (available at No Frills or any of the Portuguese butcher shops around the neighbourhood) as my queso fresco. I also blanched my peas briefly & separately, and added them in at the end to keep them bright green & sweet. The rice also had a tendency to stick to the bottom, and could scorch easily – I’d consider possibly adding less, or adding cooked rice separately. This recipe wasn’t difficult, but peeling and deveining almost 9lbs of shrimp (I made it for 24+ people) took almost 3 hours! The recipe called for an egg garnish when serving, but given the rich, hearty nature of the dish, I think this was maybe a bit of overkill (and I love eggs in my big soups).