September 6th, 2009
Learning to Cook with Aji Amarillo
What’s Aji Amarillo? No, it’s not a place in Texas, though it does sound like a destination doesn’t it? I googled Aji Amarillo and the result just goes to show, you never know where a search will lead. Aji Amarillo, I learned, is a pepper, and key ingredient of Peruvian Cuisine. Aji meaning chile pepper and amarillo meaning yellow, it’s said to be medium hot with a distinctive fruity flavor. It is used in several quintessential Peruvian dishes such as Papa a la Huancaina and Aji de Gallina.So for someone who enjoys cooking like I do, I am always on the look out for new recipes and intriguing ingredients.
I was pleased to learned that a paste made from Aji Amarillo can be purchased at Latin food stores or found at specialty online stores. That means that I can try making some Peruvian dishes right at home, since the aji amarillo is such a critical ingredient in Peruvian dishes. I’m personally not a big fan of really hot stuff, but I’m eager to try new things and so tasted this spice recently. It is exactly as described: distinctively flavored with enough heat to make a statement, but not so much that it is shouting over the other flavors. I believe that cooks all over will begin incorporating this flavor in other dishes besides the traditional Peruvian ones.