From Lima to Valencia: El Rinconcito Peruano
When world-renowned Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez (of Central and Mil fame) was asked about his favorite restaurants in Valencia on a visit to the city last year, he mysteriously left out any of the city’s Peruvian food. Of course, he mentioned some paella spots, Central Market, and even a comidas para llevar joint. Oddly lacking were any of his homeboys (or homegirls) cooking the cuisine of their common forebears in faraway Valencia (6000 miles to be precise).
Could it be that the winner of “The World’s Best Restaurant” in 2023 from The World’s Fifty Best Restaurants organization failed to drop in on even one of Valencia’s many Peruvian restaurants (25 and counting)? Was he afraid to see if the competition was outcooking him? Probably not, as he also has multiple Michelin stars to go with his “World’s Best” award. But without a doubt, he may have missed some of the best food being served up in Valencia.
Do you Peru? An Underappreciated Cuisine in Valencia
El Rinconcito Peruano, located on a leafy stretch of Extramurs, has mastered the art of Peruvian ceviche, the undisputed champion of ceviches, as well as several other exemplary dishes of this vast, often underrated and underappreciated cuisine. Dishes such as Papa a la Huancaína, slices of potato drenched in a creamy yellow sauce of aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chili pepper) and queso fresco, which accompanies the miraculous anticucho, or beef heart.
Papa a la Huancaína and Anticucho: Do not fear, this heart is tender and is served in a brilliant sauce that somehow both tames and underlines its beefiness.
Peruvian seafood, cooked just right.
If you’re new to Peruvian food, or just have a group of people who want to share, I would suggest one of the combo or mixto plates. The emphasis is on seafood, which makes sense for a country that has a 1500-mile Pacific coastline. Combos include Seafood Chaufa, which is the Peruvian take on fried rice, that the Chinese brought with them in various waves of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. The seafood chaufa is what Spaniards might call more meloso, creamy instead of toothy like traditional fried rice.
Seafood chaufa, Peruvian fried rice – The squid, shrimp, and mussels are cooked right, and this might be one of the best rice dishes in Valencia. That may sound like sacrilege, but I’m willing to brave that battle.
The Causa is a uniquely Peruvian food creation, a cylindrical tower with smooth potatoes as its base, avocado in the middle, and tuna at the top. A small hard-boiled egg and crunchy sprouts top it all off, and you can eat this level by level or cut it like a tall pie. Each forkful brings a different combination of ingredients, striking yet thoughtful.
Ceviche mellowed by leche de tigre
The fried fish, perch, or another freshwater fish, is crunchy and served in smaller pieces, so each bite has a crunch. Dip it in the provided sauce, and don’t miss the fried yuca that awaits below the pile of fish. The ceviche, marinated raw whitefish, is served with chunks of giant corn kernels, red onions, some plantain chips, and the traditional sweet potato. Corn nuts also abound. This dish is not the overly tart ceviches that often mask the lack of flavor of the fish. It is mellow, and the fish tastes like the best sushi, subtly enhanced by the leche de tigre (tiger’s milk) that it swims in.
Causa – stacked potatoes, avocado, tuna, and sprouts
Seafood mixto plate – deep fried perch, ceviche, and causa.
Ceviche – raw fish marinated in citrus-based tigre de leche
End on something sweet, sour and sophisticated.
Please, and I mean please, do not leave this restaurant without having at least one Pisco Sour. This is the national drink of Peru, and I can vouch for the Peruvian patrimony.
Pisco Sour, Peru’s national drink: Sweet, sour, pillowy, like the Cadillac of margaritas. Somewhat like Peruvian cuisine itself: sophisticated, surprising, and delightfully different.
Places Mentioned:
El Rinconcito Peruano
C/ Marqués de Zenete, 3, Extramurs, 46007 València, Valencia
