flipChuño phuti — rehydrated chuño with fat and fresh cheese
Chuño phuti — rehydrated chuño with fat and fresh cheese
Why this dish? Chuño was the hidden wealth of every highland household. For a baptism like that of little Juana, daughter of Eulalia, the precious reserve was brought out and carefully rehydrated to honor the godparents and the priest who came to fill the register.
Black chuño, soaked then boiled, regains a tender heart; it is sautéed in fat and crushed warm against fresh sheep cheese. A humble but festive dish, a sign that one has managed to keep provisions all year round.
Today my Juana is baptized, so I bring out the chuño that I froze and trampled all last winter. It must be soaked from the day before, otherwise it stays hard as a stone from the Potosí road. I squeeze it between my hands to expel the black water, I fry it in a little fat, and I crush it against the fresh cheese that the neighbor milked from her ewe. Eat, compadre: this little black stone has saved more families than you think.
- •Chuño (freeze-dried potatoes) — a good handful per guest (base)
- •Water for soaking — plenty (rehydration)
- •Llama or sheep fat — according to means (cooking fat)
- •Fresh sheep cheese — as much as desired (topping, binder)
- •Mine salt — a pinch (seasoning)
Chuño phuti — rehydrated chuño with fat and fresh cheese
Black chuño, soaked then boiled, regains a tender heart; it is sautéed in fat and crushed warm against fresh sheep cheese. A humble but festive dish, a sign that one has managed to keep provisions all year round.
Why this dish? Chuño was the hidden wealth of every highland household. For a baptism like that of little Juana, daughter of Eulalia, the precious reserve was brought out and carefully rehydrated to honor the godparents and the priest who came to fill the register.
Today my Juana is baptized, so I bring out the chuño that I froze and trampled all last winter. It must be soaked from the day before, otherwise it stays hard as a stone from the Potosí road. I squeeze it between my hands to expel the black water, I fry it in a little fat, and I crush it against the fresh cheese that the neighbor milked from her ewe. Eat, compadre: this little black stone has saved more families than you think.
Ingredients (period version)
- Chuño (freeze-dried potatoes) — a good handful per guest (base)
- Water for soaking — plenty (rehydration)
- Llama or sheep fat — according to means (cooking fat)
- Fresh sheep cheese — as much as desired (topping, binder)
- Mine salt — a pinch (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Chuño (Andean/Bolivian groceries) — 200 g (base)
- Water — enough to cover (rehydration (12 h))
- Butter or oil — 2 tbsp (cooking fat)
- Fresh sheep cheese (mild feta or fresh cheese) — 150 g (topping)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- The day before, soak the chuño in a large volume of cold water; change the water once.
- The next day, squeeze the chuño between your hands to extract the dark water, then boil for 20–25 minutes until tender all the way through.
- Drain, cut into large pieces, and sauté in hot fat until lightly golden.
- Salt, remove from heat, and roughly crush with crumbled fresh cheese; serve warm.
How it was made : A distinction was made between black chuño (frozen and trampled as is) and white chuño, or tunta, rinsed thoroughly in running water. Chuño was stored for years in stone granaries (qollqa) and also served as a unit of exchange and tribute under the colonial administration of Charcas.
The contemporary twist : Served as crushed chuño-cheese quenelles, sprinkled with herbs, it becomes a rustic-chic side dish next to grilled meat.
Eulalia Bermúdez · Charactorium
