Clay model of Moche people eating
To eat what Chavin or Moche or Nazca people might have eaten, try making this delicious Peruvian stew. It’s filling and vegan!
Fill a large saucepan about half full of water. Peel six potatoes and cut them into bite-size pieces, and put them in the water to boil. While the potatoes are cooking, peel an onion and a green pepper and chop them small. In a medium-size frying pan, over medium heat, roast a whole jalapeno pepper (or two if you like your food spicier). Keep turning it. When the pepper is pretty well blackened, take it out.
Then put a little cooking oil in the frying pan (carefully! It’s hot!), and when it gets hot, fry the onion and pepper until they get soft and begins to turn brown. Add a generous pinch of salt. When the onions and peppers are done, add a small can of tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of peanut butter and stir until it is all mixed and melted. Split open the roasted jalapeno, remove the seeds, chop, and add back to the sauce. Stir, and turn off the heat.
When the potatoes are soft, drain the water and add the potatoes to the frying pan. Mix well, and sprinkle chopped parsley over the top. Serve hot, with sliced avocado and tomato salad.
You can vary this recipe, and make it even healthier, by using sweet potatoes or squash, or yuca root, or some combination, in place of the white potatoes. Or you can make it into soup by adding the sauce to the potatoes in their water instead of draining the potatoes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup if you want it to look beautiful.
