Veal Breast with Aji Panca, Potato, and Quinoa

November 16, 2021

You have to try the best, veal breast recipe with aji, potato, and quinoa! This is a peruvian inspired dish you will love!

Finally getting around to using some of my veal breast that I ordered a while back. The breast is a great versatile cut of meat that is great for braising or slow cooking. You can also make homemade bacon with it as well. I was really wanting to go Peruvian for this recipe because I stopped off at the local latin market and was inspired by some of the ingredients there. I saw some purple corn and remembered the drink I had in Peru called Chicha Morada.

Very easy to make chicha, you simply boil purple corn cobs with water, then add spices and sugar. Great drink that can be served hot or cold. You always think of potatoes when doing Peruvian food, so I made some potato dumplings that are very similar to gnocchi but using a pate a choux dough and salsa verde. Topped the dumplings with puffed quinoa and fried hominy for crunch. Here is the veal breast recipe, I hope you enjoy!

Veal Breast with Aji Panca, Potato, Quinoa

Chicha Morada (drink)

3 dried purple corn cobs
3 liters water
1 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
1 lemon (juiced)
2 peels of pineapple ((if you have them))
1 cup sugar

Veal

1 whole veal breast (trimmed of fat and cut in half (roughly 4-5 lbs))
1 jar of aji panca paste
3 tbsp coriander seed
3 tbsp cumin seed
2 tbsp paprika
2 bay leaves
8 cup water
32 oz whole tomatoes
1 carrot (chopped)
1 jalapeño
1 onion
6 garlic cloves
3 tbsp oil

Potato Dumplings

1 large potato (boiled, skin removed)
1/2 cup water
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter

Salsa Verde (huacatay)

1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch epazote ((huacatay if you have it))
2 jalapeños
2 garlic cloves
1 oz parmesan
1/2 lime (juiced)
1 cup olive oil
salt (to taste)

Quinoa

1/4 cup red quinoa (rinsed and dried)
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
salt (to taste)

Fried Hominy

1 cup hominy
2 cup oil

For the Chicha Morada (drink- no picture shown)

Take purple corn cobs,3 liters of water, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, lemon juice and pineapple peel and place in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour and a half. Then add the sugar and cook for another 10 minutes. Strain out the chicha and serve hot, cold, or room temp.

For the Lamb breast

Toast cumin and coriander together and then grind in a spice grinder. Add red palm oil to a pressure cook on medium heat. Season breast with salt and fresh ground spices including the paprika. Sear each breast for 1 minute on each side and then add all of your ingredients. Secure the lid on the pressure cooker and bring to high pressure. Cook for 1 hour and then release the steam. Carefully remove the breast without it falling apart and place on a sheet tray to cool. Then place the rest of the ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.

For the salsa verde

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor except the olive oil. Puree until smooth and then while the food processor is still running drizzle in olive oil in a steady smooth stream. Season with salt and set aside.
Bring 2 cups of oil up to 350 degrees

For the fried hominy

Simply drain, wash, and dry hominy. Then add a handful of hominy to the pot and cover so the oil doesn't splatter and burn you. Leave just a little opening on top so the pot isn't covered 100% which allows the heat to escape and not steam your hominy. Cook for 2 minutes until crunchy and golden brown. Drain onto a paper towel and season with salt. Set aside

For the popped Quinoa

Take a non stick pan and turn the heat to medium high. Once the pan is hot you can add the oil if you wish if not just add a few quinoa grains to the pan they should pop with in a few seconds. If they do then discard and you are ready to add the rest of the grain to the pan. You can use a partial lid if you wish but it is not necessary. Be careful not to burn the quinoa. Cook for a few seconds until most of the quinoa has popped and then pour out onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Season with salt and set aside.

For the potato dumplings

Take water, butter, and place in a pot over medium high heat. Once the butter has melted, turn down to low and add in your flour with a wood spoon. Stir for two minutes and then place into a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Then take your boiled potato and push through a ricer or food mill and add it to the dough. Turn the mixer on low and mix well. Add 2 tsp of salt and then add one egg at a time until it completely get incorporated. Then add the second egg. Once fully incorporated, transfer the dough to a pastry bag.

Get a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil, take a paring knife in your left hand and your pastry bag filled with the dumpling dough in your right hand and squeeze in a steady, firm, consistent flow. Using your left hand with the knife to cut 1/2 inch pieces over the boiling water. The pieces should drop into the water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Continue until all the dough is finished. Then strain out the dumpling into a pan with 2 tbsp. of butter, reserving 1 cup of the boiling water (you may not use it all). Add 1/3 cup of the boiling water to the dumplings and butter, along with 1/4 cup of the salsa verde. Toss everything together on low heat and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm and set aside.

To finish

Cut 3oz portions of the veal belly into blocks. Then in non stick pan on medium high heat sear the veal breast to get a nice crust on the fat side. Turn over and cook until warm all the way through. Then add a couple spoonfuls of potato dumplings on to the plate. Add a spoonful of the Aji Panca sauce onto the plate next to it. Place the veal breast on top of the sauce and finish with fleur de sel. I served this with a side of guacamole that had a little of the salsa verde in it ( not shown) and a glass of the chicha morada. ( not shown)

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