Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1936) of Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa, Peruvian writer, politician, journalist, essayist, college professor, and recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America’s most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading writers of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the wave of Latin American literature that began in the mid-20^th century (known as the Latin American Boom), with authors such as Octavio Paz, Julio Cortázar, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez and Carlos Fuentes.. Upon announcing the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy said it had been given to Vargas Llosa “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.”

The potato is perhaps the most significant cultigen to come out of Peru.  There are now over 1,000 varieties worldwide although very few make it to market.  Potato production was vital to the development and expansion of the Inca empire.  Then, as now, different varieties of potato are grown at different altitudes in the Andes, but all find their way to markets in the main cities.

Cau cau is a tripe and potatoes dish I love.  It’s really pretty basic – potatoes, tripe, and onions.  What makes it special is the spice palillo, which gives a special savor and brilliant yellow color to the dish. Turmeric makes a fair substitute (or annatto or saffron).  I decided to give you the recipe in Spanish for the hell of it. That’s how I received it. It’s not hard to translate.

Cau Cau

Ingredientes:

½ kilo de mondongo
4 cucharadas de aceite
1 cebolla grande finamente picada
2 ajos molidos
2 cucharadas de ají amarillo
1 ½ kilo de papa cocida y cortada en cuadraditos
½ cucharada de palillo en polvo  (o cúrcuma)
2 cucharadas de leche
sal, pimienta y comino al gusto
hierbabuena picada al gusto

Preparación:

Cocinar en agua el mondongo, con la leche y ramita de hierbabuena, hasta que este blando. Cortar en  cuadraditos.

Freír con aceite caliente la cebolla, los ajos, el ají, el palillo, la sal, la pimienta y el comino. Agregar el mondongo y las papas cocidas. Dejar cocer unos minutos.

Servir enseguida y si desea puede espolvorear hierbabuena.