Suspiro de Limena

Without a doubt, the best dessert I came across in Peru was Suspiro de Limena. If you translate the name of this dessert to English, it means something like "Sighs of a lady from Lima". As soon as you take your first mouthful, a sigh will pop out, along the lines of "how will I ever finish this?"

I don't normally post up recipes, but I enjoyed this dessert so much, I just had to put it up. I should warn you though, it's very rich and very sweet, so you don't need much. We made a giant batch of about 35 for our housewarming party a couple of weeks ago, and they all disappeared, which is always a good sign. The recipe is pretty simple, so there's no excuse not to try try it out.

Suspiro de Limena

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

6 egg yolks

4 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 small glass of port

1/4 cup sugar

Cinnamon power

Preparation

1. Empty contents of both milk cans in a medium sized, non-stick, heavy saucepan and stir constantly with a wooden spoon over medium/low heat, watching carefully to avoid sticking or burning. After 20-30 minutes, when the milk thickens and coats the spoon and the bottom of the pan can be seen while stirring, remove from heat (the cookbook actually says fire) and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Add vanilla and beaten egg yolks, stirring briskly, until smooth. Pour in individual dessert glasses.

3. In a separate small saucepan, make a light syrup by melting sugar and port, swirling pan until sugar is completely dissolved.

4. Beat egg whites and gently pour syrup in a thread until meringue holds stiff peaks.

5. Top individual servings of suspiro with meringue (use a piping bag), sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon powder and serve at room temperature.

The recipe comes from Peruvian Cooking - Basic Recipes by Annik Franco Barreau, a terrific Peruvian cookbook which I picked up in Lima. If anyone is keen to get your hands on some more Peruvian recipes, please let me know.

Once you try this, you'll be hooked, believe me.

Pisco Sour

I've already given a wrap to the Pisco sour, which is basically the Peruvian national cocktail. If you're keen to try one out, here's how to make it:

90 ml Pisco

30 ml sugar syrup or 1 tbsp sugar

30 ml fresh lime juice

1 egg white

4 ice cubes, crushed

4 drops of Angostura bitters

In a blender, pour in egg white and mix until foamy. Add ice half way up, mix and add the rest of the ingredients, except the bitters. Keep blending until ice disappears. Serve and top with drops of bitters. Makes 1 cocktail.

I haven't yet found a bottle of Pisco in Brisbane, but the extent of my search has been my local bottleshop (which I knew wouldn't have it anyway). When I track one down, I'll let you know.

If you'd rather have someone else whip one up for you, pop into The Bowery. I was there last night and was glad to see that the Pisco sour makes an appearance on their current cocktail list. As you can see, there's a fair bit of Pisco in the drink, so be warned.

The Euro Cup and Plate

During Euro 2008, I put up a few posts about places in Brisbane where you could find food from each of the countries that were competing. I still haven't quite finished it, because I lost my internet access for more than a month just at the crucial time when Euro 2008 was coming to an end.

Anyway, I have been meaning to put a post up about The Euro Cup and Plate for ages. The team from Gustoso went to an amazing effort to post up recipes and drinks from all the countries that were competing. I can't even imagine how much time they must have put into it, but the end product is pretty amazing. Make sure you check out a few of the recipes.