A Black Latin American Recipe – Tacu Tacu

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon, March 14, 2022: In Peru, one of these recipes with deep African roots is Tacu Tacu. The dish was created by African slaves working in haciendas during colonial times, using leftovers to make a more complete and sustainable meal. Here’s how to prepare it according to Eat Peru.

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked navy beans or 4 cups precooked canned navy beans (or mayocoba beans if available)

1½ cups of white rice

½ large red onion

big tomato

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 ½ tablespoon garlic paste

2 teaspoons ají amarillo chili paste

4 eggs

4 plantains

4 fried steaks – optional

1 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Sarsa criolla relish (optional)

1 julienned onion

1 small limousine pepper, finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Soak raw beans overnight, adding a tablespoon of salt. Change the water and boil until soft (cooking time here will depend on the type of bean and pot used, usually 1-2 hours).

Finely chop the onion, tomato and parsley for the tacu tacu.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the onion and garlic.

Sauté the ingredients for 2 minutes. olive oil onion and garlic. Add the oregano.

Add tomato and ají amarillo chili paste to sauté for another 3 minutes or until cooked.

Turn off the heat, add the cooked beans, mashing them lightly and mix well.

Add cooked beans and rice.

Mix well. Let the mixture rest for at least 15 minutes so that the ingredients penetrate well into the rice (this is very important to obtain the right texture!).

Set the mixture aside and for each individual serving, return about 2 cups of the mixture to a hot skillet with ½ tablespoon olive and lightly fry.

Make sure the mixture reaches a compact texture.

Prepare the salsa criolla by mixing the julienned red onion, finely chopped limousine pepper, parsley, olive oil, lime juice and salt.

Serve the tacu tacu, topped with a fried egg (or steak, chicken, fish fillet or other toppings of your choice), fried plantain and relish to sarsa criolla onion.

enjoy your food