Quinoa, native potatoes, oca and aji amarillo simmered into a vibrant high-altitude stew — Peru's mountain cuisine in one bowl.
⭐Inspired by Virgilio Martínez · 🇵🇪 PeruThis recipe is inspired by Chef Virgilio Martínez's research-driven work at Central in Lima — the World's Best Restaurant 2023 — and at Mil, his restaurant at 3,500 metres above sea level. Martínez's tasting menu is structured around 'altitudes' — each course represents a specific Peruvian ecosystem at a specific altitude. This stew distils his sierra (mountain) approach into a single home dish: native quinoa, multi-coloured potatoes, oca tubers and aji amarillo, brought together with a vibrant huacatay (black mint) finish.
Serves 4
Boil the rinsed quinoa in 500ml salted water for 12–15 minutes until tender and the germs spiral out. Drain and reserve.
Heat the olive oil in a wide pot. Sweat the onion 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic, cumin, aji amarillo and aji panca pastes. Cook 3 minutes until deeply aromatic.
Add the native potatoes and oca. Pour in the warm stock. Simmer covered 25 minutes until the tubers are tender.
Stir in the cooked quinoa and huacatay paste. Simmer 5 more minutes. Taste — should be vibrant, slightly sweet from the aji amarillo, earthy from the tubers.
Ladle into shallow warm bowls. Top with cubes of queso fresco, fresh coriander and huacatay leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lime. Serve immediately.
Rinse quinoa thoroughly — unrinsed quinoa is unpleasantly bitter.
Mix at least 2 colours of potato for visual depth.
Aji amarillo paste is non-negotiable — it gives the stew its Peruvian character.
With Lamb: add 400g cubed lamb shoulder, browning it before the onions; cook 90 minutes.
With Trout (Trucha): finish with fresh river trout fillets in the last 4 minutes of cooking — very Andean.
Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat with a splash of stock.
Quinoa has been cultivated in the Peruvian Andes for over 5,000 years, considered sacred by the Inca. Modern Peruvian fine dining — led by Virgilio Martínez and Gastón Acurio — has reframed Andean cuisine as one of the world's great traditions, equal in depth to French or Japanese cooking.
Huacatay (Peruvian black mint, Tagetes minuta) is a marigold-family herb with an intense, slightly bitter, mint-citrus flavour found only in the Andes. Sold as a paste at Peruvian groceries; substitute fresh mint + a tiny pinch of basil if unavailable.
Oca (Oxalis tuberosa) is a small, brightly coloured Andean tuber, slightly tangy and earthy. Used widely in highland Peruvian cooking. Baby new potatoes are the closest available substitute outside South America.
Around 'altitudes' — each course represents a specific Peruvian ecosystem at a specific altitude, from coastal sea-level dishes to high-Andes ingredients found above 4,000 metres. The menu is essentially a culinary journey through Peru's vertical biodiversity.
Yes — in 2023 Central was ranked #1 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants, the first Latin American restaurant ever to top the list. Sister restaurant Kjolle (run by Martínez's wife Pía León) has also received major international recognition.
Peruvian and Bolivian specialty stores — increasingly common in cities with South American diaspora. Online importers ship aji amarillo paste, huacatay, quinoa varieties and freeze-dried potatoes (chuño). Substitute baby new potatoes for native tubers and Sichuan peppercorns for huacatay's tongue-tingling property.
Per serving (420g / 14.8 oz) · 4 servings total
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