We Visited Inka Fé – Restaurant Review
This post is a sum up of our visit to Inka Fé, a Peruvian bakery in Great Neck, Long Island
“Caigua Rellena”
Caigua, stuffed with beef, and veggies, served over rice.
“Anticuchos”
Beef heart skewers, marinated in spices and in a Peruvian pepper paste, served with potatoes/corn with a spicy sauce.
“Seco de Mariscos”
“Seco de Mariscos”, is a creamy stew with some seafood, great aroma, and texture in one quick dish.
“Lasagna de Ají de Gallina”
Ají de Gallina (Creamy spicy hen stew) turned into a Lasagna
“Pollo a la Brasa”
Peruvian blackened chicken, rotisserie chicken, one of the most iconic Peruvian dishes.
¿En otro idioma? – Different lang?
“Locro de Zapallo” – Spicy Pumpkin Stew
Stews are one of my favorite types of dishes, they cook slowly and develop different flavors, “Locro de Zapallo” is Peruvian stew made with “Zapallo” (Pumpkin), but not any kind of Pumpkin, the variety we use is called “Macre”, it is a type of Cucurbita Maxima that grows in some parts of Peru and South America and I love it!
Locro de Zapallo is a delicious creamy stew, served hot, it has a lot of flavors, usually served with meat but is good by itself. what is really interesting about this dish is that most of the time is prepared at home, most restaurants won’t sell this dish due to the fact that is really simple. at home I prepared it often, family and friends really like it, one of my friends even told me that He does not like Locro but he only likes my version of it, I believe it is one of those dishes that has really simple ingredients and tastes really good.
What kind of Pumpkins can I cook it with?
When I was away from Peru, it was really hard to get “Zapallo Macre”, after testing some pumpkins and squashes I realized that Kabocha squash combined with Butternut squash can replace the Macre pumpkin.
Is it Vegetarian?
It can be, Locro de Zapallo is served with Beef or Chicken, but it can be good by itself.
"Locro de Zapallo"
Ingredients
- Vegetable Oil
- 1 Red onion diced
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 3 cups of Kabocha Squash diced
- 1 cups of Butternut Squash diced
- 2 tbsp of "Ají Amarillo" Paste
- 1 tbsp of "Huacatay" Paste
- 1 tbsp of "Ají Panca" Paste
- 3 cups of Potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 cup of Peas
- 1.5 cups of Vegetable Stock
- 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk
- 250 gr of Queso Fresco optional
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- In a pot on medium/high heat add 3 tablespoons of oil then add onions, garlic, let them cook until tender, then add "Ají Amarillo and Panca Paste" and let it cook for 3 min.
- In the Same pot add your squashes, add the broth or water, set the temperature to low/medium, put a lid on it let it cook until the squashes start to fall apart.
- When squashes are soft add the potatoes and give it a good stir, add more broth if needed, put the lid back and let it cook till potatoes are soft (about 7 min or so).
- Once it's cooked add peas and milk, also add salt and pepper and put the lid back, turn off the stove and let the remaining heat cook the peas.
- Serve with Salsa Criolla and Queso Fresco
Video
Notes
If you are in Peru, and you have access to Zapallo Macre go for it, I suggested on the recipe Kabocha and butternut squashes since both have similar texture and flavor to the Zapallo Macre
This is a great fall dish, the sweetness and texture of the squashes make this dish really good.
if your squashes take too long to fall apart you can use a hand blender or blender to mush them.
I love tender veggies that is why I like to use the remaining heat to cook the peas.
Serve it with Sarza Criolla and queso fresco, both are great compliments for this dish.
If you are looking for Peruvian ingredients like “Ají Amarillo” , “Ají Panca” or “Huacatay Paste” click here
You can use any squash or pumpkin that you have in hand, as long as it is starchy and sweet.
What do think about this recipe? comment below
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