Quinotto a la Huacaina

After a recent trip to Peru, the new centre of the gastronomical universe, this quinoa "risotto" was my stand-out dish, without a doubt my most memorable dish. I've seen quinotto recipes before but this was flavoured with huacaina sauce, which is made with aji amarillo, a yellow chilli pepper and cheese. It was so comforting as any good risotto should be but then the carefully thought out toppings elevated it to another level of deliciousness. 

I ate it in a restaurant called Ofrenda in Cusco.

Ingredients
serves 4

240g quinoa 

1.2 litres veg stock

200g pumpkin, roasted

500g hucaina sauce 

for the huacaina sauce

6 ajíes amarillos (Peruvian yellow peppers), deseed (or 180g of ají amarillo paste)

50g chopped onion, marinated in vinegar    

150ml evaporated milk

5 soda crackers (i.e. water biscuits or cream crackers)

125g  queso fresco (feta) 

Salt, to taste

optional toppings

4 tomatoes, quartered, slow roasted for an hour at 140C

40g courgette, thinly sliced and soaked in soy sauce for hours

wild mushrooms, fried in garlic & butter

brocolli, steamed

salad leaves

1/2 avocado, sliced

vegetable crisps

Viola edible flowers

Method

Prepare the huacaina sauce by adding all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend into a thick sauce.  Keep in the fridge. 

Pre-heat the oven to 220C.  

Cut the pumpkin into cubes, place in a roasting tray, drizzle over olive oil and season with salt.  Roast for half an hour, until soft. Remove, allow to cool then blitz with a hand blender into a puree. 

In a heavy based saucepan add the quinoa to the veg stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the pumpkin puree and huacaina sauce, and return to a simmer for a further 5 minutes. 

Serve in a wide bowl and top with as many or as little of the optional topping as you like.