Peru Recipes – Paiche with Aguaje & Chorizo Salsa
Paiche, also known as Arapaima, can grow to 500 pounds in shallow, muddy waters in the Amazon. this gigantic freshwater fish breathe air and and can rise to the surface to breathe and can also can leap out of the water! Here Bobby Chinn with the help of Peruvian master chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino create of Peruvian classic with a twist!
Ingredients:
- 540 gr fresh paiche (Peruvian white fish), cleaned and de-boned
- Olive oil
- Aguaje puree
- 200 gm fresh aguaje paste
- 50 gm butter
- 50 gm cream
Salsa
- 120 gm regional chorizo
- 4 tbsp Virgin olive oil
- 120 gm de ají dulce morroneado, in slices
- 1 cup of white onion, cut finely
- 1 tsp teaspoon of freshly grated palillo (Peruvian plant like guava)
- 3 cloves of garlic, cut finely
- 1 tbsp. de sacha culantro picado
- 1 tsp. de Wild Peruvian Chili Pepper crushed
- ½ cup White wine
- 5 cups fish stock
- salt & pepper
Method:
- For the aguaje puree, heat the cream, add the butter and stir in the sugar in until it dissolves. Add the aguaje and mix until it becomes a homogeneous puree and then pass through a fine sieve. Season with salt.
- In a skillet heat the olive oil, brown the paiche, add the chorizo. Season with salt and pepper, remove the fish from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the onion, garlic and palillo/guava. Saute until the onion is tender and transparent. Add the white wine and reduce to zero. Add the fish stock, season with salt and pepper, cut in half the initial volume. Finish with the sachet of coriander and pass through a fine sieve. Return the sauce to the pan, add the fish and sweet peppers. Finish cooking the fish, basting with the sauce.
- To serve:
Place a spoonful of mashed aguaje on a plate, place the paiche and sweet pepper. Cover with sauce and finish placing the cocoa powder over fish
