Tasty Tiradito Al Aji Amarillo Recipe

Tiradito al Aji Amarillo is a dish that captures the essence of Peru. Inspired by the coastal shores through the sea bass, and mildly spicy from the Aji Amarillo peppers, each mouthful is full of delicious Peruvian flavours.

The dish highlights a variety of local ingredients from Peru, with the leche de tigre base, Aji Amarillo paste, along with red quinoa, roasted sweet potato, corn choclo and cured sea bass.

This recipe by Chef Bruno Andres Donaires Salinas, Chef de Cuisine at Santè Ria Restaurant, is perfect to make for family get-togethers or while looking to enjoy a decadent meal at home.

Ingredients:

For leche de tigre base: 

70g celery

10g ginger

30g red onion

13g garlic

200g lime juice

15g salt

1g black pepper

120g white fish

30g coriander

For Aji Amarillo paste:

500g Aji Amarillo peppers

40g white onion

20g celery

For the red quinoa: 

100g red quinoa

For the roasted sweet potato:

150g sweet potato

20g white sugar

330ml Fanta

60ml orange juice

1 piece star anise

For corn choclo:

150g corn choclo

20g sugar

1 piece star anise

20ml lime juice

For the cured sea bass:

300g sea bass

200g salt

20g coriander

3g habanero

30g celery

Recipe:

To make the leche de tigre base:

1. Add celery, ginger, red onion, garlic, lime juice, cold water, salt, and black pepper into a blender, and blend till smooth. 
2. Strain the mixture to remove any solids, and add the white fish and coriander to the strained liquid in the blender.
3. Blend for 30 seconds to get a smooth leche de tigre base.

To make the Aji Amarillo paste:

1. Clean and remove the seeds from Aji Amarillo peppers, and boil the peppers in water for 30 minutes, changing the water every 15 minutes.
2. Sauté the boiled Aji Amarillo peppers, white onion, and celery in a pan.
3. Blend the sautéed mixture until smooth.
4. Allow it to cool down.

To make the crispy quinoa: 

1. Blanch the red quinoa until it is al dente, then drain and dry it.
2. Once completely dry, fry the quinoa, until crispy.

To make the roasted sweet potato:

1. Cut the sweet potato into cubes.
2. In a pot, combine Fanta, sugar, and orange juice. Dissolve the sugar and add the sweet potato.
3. Heat the mixture until the sweet potato is cooked.
4. Remove the sweet potato from the liquid and cool it in the refrigerator. 
5. Use a torch to caramelise the top surface of the sweet potato cubes.

To make the corn choclo:

1. Boil water in a pot, and add star anise, sugar, and corn choclo.
2. Cook the corn choclo until it is soft, for about 10 minutes.
3. Add lime juice and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

To make the cured sea bass:

1. Mix salt, coriander, habanero and celery to create a curing mixture.
2. Coat the sea bass with the curing mixture, ensuring it is well-covered, and allow the sea bass to sit in it for 20 minutes.
3. Rinse the sea bass thoroughly to remove excess salt, pat the sea bass dry, and slice it into thin slices for serving.

To assemble:

1. Arrange the cured sea bass slices on a plate, and drizzle the leche de tigre base over the sea bass.
2. Garnish with Aji Amarillo paste, crispy quinoa, roasted sweet potato cubes, corn choclo, sliced red onion, roasted avocado, habanero slices, and coriander leaves.

Chef Bruno Andres Donaires Salinas

Chef de Cuisine

Santè Ria Restaurant