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Thimpu de carachi
Poached fish with potatoes
Thimpu de carachi: Puno's lake fish poached over potatoes and chuño, with a fried onion and chilli sauce
Around the shores of Lake Titicaca, thimpu is weekday food and Lent food alike: carachi, a small native lake fish, laid over potatoes and chuño (freeze-dried Andean potato) and gently poached, then drenched at the table with a hot sauce of onion fried with ají. The fish is soft and delicate, the chuño earthy and pleasantly chewy, and the sauce brings colour and fire. Outside Puno, small whole trout, tilapia or perch, or thick trout fillets, work well. Chuño needs an overnight soak (plan for it) and is sold in Andean and Latin shops; swap in extra waxy potatoes if you can't find it. The trap here is boiling the fish hard so it falls apart; keep the water at a bare shiver. Chef's tip: make the sauce while the fish poaches and spoon it on boiling hot, so it sizzles over the plate.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the fish and potatoes
- 7 oz chuño (freeze-dried potato)soaked overnight, or 300 g waxy potatoes
- 1 ⅓ lb potatoespeeled, halved
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¾ lb small whole freshwater fishcarachi, small trout or tilapia, gutted and scaled; or 600 g trout fillets
For the chilli sauce
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 red onionscut into thick strips
- 3 garlic clovescrushed
- 2 tbsp ají panca paste
- 1 tbsp ají amarillo paste
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Drain 7 oz chuño (freeze-dried potato), squeeze each piece gently and rub off any loose skin. Rinse in fresh water.
Step 3: Turn the heat down so the water barely moves. Lay 1 ¾ lb small whole freshwater fish on top of the potatoes with 4 fresh mint or huacatay sprigs, cover and poach until the flesh is opaque and flakes from the bone.
10 minStep 4: Meanwhile, heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry 2 red onions and 3 garlic cloves until soft and just golden.
8 minStep 5: Stir in 2 tbsp ají panca paste, 1 tbsp ají amarillo paste, ½ tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp salt and a ladle of the fish broth, and simmer until glossy and slightly thick.
4 minStep 6: Lift the fish, potatoes and chuño onto deep plates with a little broth and spoon the hot sauce over the top.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does thimpu de carachi take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 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 gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of red onions?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
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