Bolivian quinoa p’esque is a light porridge or stew, but loaded with protein enjoyed early in the morning in the streets of La Paz.
Friday! We are back with another Bolivian dish.
This time chef Valentina from What’s Cooking Valentina, shares a dish with Bolivia's golden grain, quinoa.
She shared with us an article about Bolivian cuisine and its products at the beginning of this month.
I'm very happy to have her back sharing a delicious recipe with us.
Today's recipe is a popular dish eaten in the streets of La Paz, Bolivia.
P’esque has been considered a typical dish from El Alto. Popular between the food street vendors early in the morning.
It's a simple dish to prepare at home and the ingredients are easy to find.
This dish is meatless and is perfect for Easter week.
Bolivian Quinoa
This dish is made with our golden grain: Quinoa. Being our protagonist in this dish, we must talk about its great nutritional value (high in protein and vitamins).
Royal quinoa is only found in Bolivia, it was discovered in the Andes 7,000 years ago and is considered a sacred food by the native peoples of the Bolivian highlands, as it was for the Inca and Tiahuanacota Andean cultures.
This cereal is produced near the salt flats of Uyuni, Thunupa, and Coipasa. The influence of the salt flats is a factor so that this quinoa has exceptional properties that have served to produce a top-quality product.
Bolivian P'esque or Pesque
There are two ways to serve qu’esque de quinoa:
- It can be served with milk and cheese
- It can be served with a simple stew, a mixture of onion with yellow pepper and cheese
Bolivian Ají Amarillo (yellow chili pepper)
Ají amarillo (yellow pepper) is very common in Bolivian and Peruvian cuisine. But a little hard to get in other countries.
This chili has touches of tropical fruit more similar to Bonney peppers, or Caribbean red peppers.
According to pepperscale.com, a good substitute would be ají pasilla or ancho pepper (the dried form of the poblano).
Quinoa Porridge for Breakfast!
When you approach the case (the lady who sells the food) in the morning, you can choose how you want your p'esque for breakfast, either hot with a savory, spicy onion sauce or with milk and grated cheese.
Or with a slice of fresh cheese.
Are you ready to try this delicious Bolivian breakfast? try it and share it with your friends!
If you liked the recipe above, please consider rating the recipe and leaving a comment below! and share your picture on Instagram with the hashtag #chipabythedozen
Have you tried Asaditos? Asaditos are Bolivian Beef and Cassava Burgers. Come, check it out!
P’esque de Quinua (Bolivian Quinoa Porridge)
Ingredients
- Quinoa
- 163 g raw white quinoa (a little bit less than 1 cup)
- enough water to cook quinoa (4 cups)
- salt to taste
- Onion stew
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 medium red onion in brunoise
- 24 g ground yellow pepper (4-1/2 tablespoons)
- 150 ml water (2/3 cup)
- pinch of ground cumin
- salt to taste
- P’esque with milk (per serving)
- 164 g cooked quinoa (almost 1 cup)
- 20 ml milk (1-1/2 tablespoons)
- pinch of salt
- 40 g grated fresh cheese (1/3 cup)
- P’esque with onions (per serving)
- 164 g cooked quinoa (almost 1 cup)
- 45 g onion mixture (divide the original mixture in 4 equal portions)
- 40 g grated fresh cheese (1/3 cup)
Instructions
- For quinoa: 1. Wash quinoa well. 2. Cook quinoa in saltwater. 3. Quinoa should be well cooked, with the help of the wooden spoon, mash it. 4. In the end, add salt to the quinoa and reserve.
- For the onion stew: 1. In a pan add the oil and brown the onion. 2. Add yellow pepper and let it cook. 3. Season with salt, cumin and add water. 4. Let it cook and reduce.
- How to serve p'esque with milk:1. Heat the milk and add a pinch of salt. 2. Serve quinoa on a plate. 3. To the middle add milk and grated cheese on the edges.
- How to serve p'esque with onions:1. Serve quinoa in the form of a crown on the plate . 2. In the center add the onion mixture and grated cheese on the edges.
Notes
Hello, I am Valentina Arteaga from La Paz, Bolivia. I’ve studied at Cordon Bleu and Basque Culinary Center. I’ve been a cook for approximately seven years gaining experience in various restaurants and implementing different projects in many places such as Peru, Spain, and the United States.
Roberto
As a Mexican looking for Latin American recipes, it turned amazing! I made a dairy-free version using sunflower seed milk 🙂
Lizet
I'm so glad you liked it, Roberto! And I'm glad it turned out well with the substitution.