You could eat every meal of the day from street vendors in Peru. Early in the morning, breakfast drinks are made and sold. At lunchtime, a variety of meals can be found including fish, stews, sandwiches and other portable snacks. Often, people enjoy soups or sandwiches for dinner and sweets like arroz con leche combined with mazamora morada for dessert.
Another Peruvian dessert which is enjoyed on the streets, at food fairs and even at fund raisers is Picarones. Sweet potato and winter squash is made into a puree then added to flour with yeast. Picarones are typically served three to a plate with syrup made from chancaca sugar and other fruity flavors. According to wikipedia, picarones were made as the low-cost substitute for buñuelos during the Viceroyalty of Peru. Traditional ingredients were replaced with commonly used items such as the sweet potato and zapallo.
My first attempt at picarones was a runny batter that was unshapeable and altogether wrong. They deserved another try and a different recipe. I boiled sweet potato and zapallo until both were soft; allowed the yeast to foam in some of the cooking liquid and began to add flour. After I added the quantity of flour according to the recipe, the dough was still sticky. The recipe added a tip that the dough would not be sticky to the touch. So I added more flour. And more flour. And more flour…until I ran out. The dough was sort of sticky and sort of not; so I decide to proceed and let the sort-of-sticky mass of floured mashed vegetables double in size.
Not much deep frying occurs in my kitchen. Sure, I fry bananas and eggs. But French fries are baked and other treats are avoided. I mean really, I am trying to make some changes for the betterment of my health. And then here I am making Peruvian Squash Fritters.
The final result was good, if you were not expecting what you buy on the street. I served these with honey instead of the chancaca syrup but found that when I rolled them in granulated sugar, they were even more delicious.
This is a Peruvian treat that I will be making again and again until I get it right. Or maybe I will just go buy some from the lady on the corner. But, she doesn’t sprinkle them with sugar.
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These Peruvian Squash Fritters, or Picarones, are my submission to “It’s Time to Make the Donuts” hosted by Tartelette and Peabody. The Round-Up can be found here, here and here!
Please keep trying, and then share the final recipe with us. These look delicious!
Maybe you could buy one from the lady on the corner to nibble on while you make more! They really look great. It’s only 5:15 am here, and I wish I had one to nibble on myself.
Oooh Yummm. Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite foods.
Oh man! Those sound wonderful. How did I miss those when I was in Peru??!! Not missing them next time that is for sure.
These sound delicious! Makes me want to visit Peru just to try them!
My goodness! These look so delicious! We have a Peruvian restaurant here that make something similar. I love them!
Lydia – I will try again, I would just really like to watch someone make the dough before I try again. Every recipe looks about the same but turns out way too watery for me.
Susan – Wish i could have sent one over, I had way too many here!
Karen – Mine too!
Mary – I am not sure how you missed them! They are a Lima thing and maybe not as much in Cuzco. Delicious though!
Deborah – You are welcome anytime!
SGCC – I am so glad to know you have a Peruvian restaurant nearby! Yeah!
These look and sound wonderful! I promise to get spe if one day I go to Peru (oh that would be wonderful!)
You sound like me – no frying, generally, but then I found myself frying up a big batch of donuts, and I ate far too many of them!
Ooh… but they looks so great!
With the honey running down the side of them, oh my, you know how to sell them.
Despite the issues you had with these, they look great, and are so different to what I have previously seen/tried.
They look very yummy- even if they are not exactly what you were hpoing for. I made beignets, which are like bunuelos as well.
Yumm. Itried to make a sweet potato churro so I can imagine how these taste. And with the syrup and sugar to boot! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. Now I see your blog and your reamakable life. I admire what you are doing.
Tartelette – Wouldn’t that be wonderful?!
Madam Chow – Too funny!
Ann – They were tasty, just not the same!
Cheryl –
Cakelaw – I will keep trying as I know they can be delicious!
Katia – Thanks!
Glamah – Oohh! Sweet potato churro? Interesting! Thanks so much for visiting my blog!
they sound and look so good! You could even call them healthy
One more variety of doughnut. I’m learning all the time.