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Pesque de quinua

Name: Pesque de quinua
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Peruvian
Ingredients: 300 g white quinoa; 900 ml water; 0.75 tsp salt; 300 ml whole milk; 30 g butter; 200 g queso fresco; 0.25 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp parsley

Pesque de quinua: Puno's creamy quinoa mash with milk and fresh cheese

Features:Vegetarian

High protein

Cuisine:

Peruvian

Up on the Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, where quinoa grows at almost 4,000 metres, pesque is everyday food: quinoa cooked until it collapses, then beaten with milk, a knob of butter and crumbled fresh cheese until it looks like a loose, savoury risotto. Puno families eat it for a warming lunch or supper, often with a glass of milk poured over or a fried egg on top, and in the cold dry air it is exactly what the body wants. It is soft, nutty and mildly salty. The step people skip is rinsing the quinoa, and the natural saponins then leave a soapy, bitter edge; rub it under running water until the foam stops. Serve with a tomato salad or a spoon of uchucuta for some heat. Andean fresh cheese is usually set with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian fresh cheese if needed. Chef's tip: cook the quinoa in a little more water than usual and leave it a few minutes longer than for a salad, so it turns creamy and the grains burst.

Total time: 35 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4

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Ingredients

Serves4

10 ½ oz white quinoa
3 ¾ cups water
¾ tsp salt
1 ¼ cups whole milkwarm
1 oz butter
7 oz queso frescocrumbled; traditional queso fresco is often made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) fresh cheese or a mild feta-style cheese
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp parsley (optional)chopped, to serve

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What you'll need

Fine sieve

Spices & pantry

Fresh ingredients (3)

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Method

0/5 done

Step 1: Put 10 ½ oz white quinoa in a fine sieve and rub it under cold running water for 1–2 minutes, until the water no longer foams.
Step 2: Bring 3 ¾ cups water and ¾ tsp salt to the boil in a heavy pan, add the quinoa, cover and simmer over a low heat until the water is absorbed and the grains have split and turned soft, 20–25 minutes.
25 min
Step 3: Pour in ¾ cup whole milk and beat with a wooden spoon over a low heat for 2–3 minutes, until the quinoa turns creamy and thick, like loose porridge.
3 min
Step 4: Stir in 1 oz butter and 5 ½ oz queso fresco until the cheese softens. Season with ¼ tsp black pepper and add a splash more of the remaining milk if it is stiff.
Step 5: Serve hot in bowls with the rest of 1 ¾ oz queso fresco crumbled on top, 2 tbsp parsley if you like, and the rest of ¾ cup whole milk in a jug for pouring over.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 470 kcal
Protein: 21 g
Carbs: 50 g
Fat: 21 g
Fibre: 5 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does pesque de quinua take?: About 35 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?: Yes. It has no meat or fish.
Is it gluten free?: Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
What can I use instead of whole milk?: Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
What can I use instead of butter?: The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).

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