Rocoto, Rocoto, Rocoto...
It sounds like an echo from Andean Mountains to the valleys and wolds of tropical Peru and Boliva.
And also from my garden in the valley of the river Dyje, full of the Sun and a fresh air. Rocoto Gelbe Riesen is one of the biggest capsicums. At the picture we can see a fruit, a few days before its ripeness.
Rocoto - yellow Gelbe Riesen, CAP 867 Orange, Ecuadorian Red
Rocota (Capsicum Pubescens) crawls as a bush-rope, and growing with a prop it is a few meters high. It comprise many aromatic, and very hot fruits of green, yellow, orange, red and brown color.
Rocoto Gelbe Riesen´s fruits diameter is about 10 cm.
Rocoto Gelbe Riesen is one of the biggest fruits of Rocoto. It has a shape of an yellow apple. If you taste it, you will feel very pleasant, sugary, juicy, and fruit taste. In the second moment you will feel an explosion of hotness. Yes, this is just Rocoto - vegetable and a very hot capsicum.
Its black seeds and light pulp are very hot.
One of the most famous and most delicious foods of peruvian gastronomy is very healthy and it´s made of these big Rocoto capsicums - it is a Rocoto Relleno - stuffed and baked peppers.
Stuffed and baked peppers floured with a green chive.
A Writer and a diplomat Carlos Herrera wrote a mysterious story about a creation of the receipe. In the story, a leggendary chef from peruvian Arequipeño - Manuel Masias, got down to the hell to save a soul of his doughter Delphine, who died young. For salvation of her soul he offerd to Lucifer to cook a delicious dinner. If he is content, he liberates his doughters soul so it can go to the heaven. The dinner was amazing and a old scratch had to fulfill a promise and he liberated Dolphins soul.
Peruvian Arequipeño, at the backround is a volcano El misti, it is 5822 metres high. Source - Wikipedia
In that tipical food there are red Rocota stuffed with minced beef, black olives, onion, garlic, fresh chees, topped with cream and eggs, mull with caraway and parsley in a roast utensil. Mostly the Rocoto Relleno we can eat with baked potatoes or with a "potato cake".
From my own harvest I use yellow Rocota Gelbe Riesen. At the backround on the right you can see smaller tipes of Rocoto - CAP 1492 and on the left Oculto CLEF.
I cut the tops of peppers, I core the pepper and with a spoon I also hollow out the pulp. I put it into the roast utensil to know how many peppers I need to prepare.
Rocoto prepared for cooking.
I fill a big saucepot with water and I let it boil. I add a few spoons of sugar, salt and vinagre. When they disolve, I prepare cored peppers including their tops. I let them boil for 3 - 4 minutes. Then I pick up peppers and I let them drain. This is how they lost their major part of hotness and now they are usefull for everyone.
Cold and drain Rocota and their tops after boil.
A base of a roast utensil I doub onto with olive oil. When Rocoto is cold, I can start stuffing. I put the pepper gradually, next to each other. At the picture you can see a vegearian stuffing - a mix of eggs, milk, barm, bread crumbs, herbs and spices.
Pepper stuffed with vegeratian stuffing.
On the tops of peppers I put sliced chees. In this case it is a smoked oveine chees, a slice of irish chedar and a slice of mozzarella.
Rocoto with chees.
I put tops of peppers on stuffed peppers.
Peppers with their tops.
In a bowl I whisk eggs, milk, cream with salt and a black pepper and then I slop it on Rocoto. Then I put it to a oven (180 °C ) for 40 minutes.
Baked Rocoto.
This healthy, tasty, and harmonic food surprises everyone, who tastes it for the first time. In our family we cook this mostly during autumn.
And it doesn´t metter, if we eat it with potatoes, rice, kuskus or pasta. You will never find any leftovers on a plate.