by Cleo Coyle
The Bellini is traditionally made with pureed white peaches, but in America (due to the limited availability of the white variety) yellow peaches are often substituted. Sometimes a touch of cherry or raspberry juice is added to blush the drink into an especially vibrant color.
Prosecco is the sparkling wine of choice when making this cocktail. Other sparkling wines can certainly be substituted, but the heavier flavor of French champagne doesn’t pair as well with the light, fruity taste of the peach.
1 part well-pureed peaches (remove skins)2
2 parts chilled sparkling wine or champagne (Prosecco is best)
Peel the peach and puree it in a blender. Pour the puree into a pitcher (or a single glass), add the well-chilled Prosecco (or champagne), and stir well. Serve in chilled champagne flute.
Machu Picchu’s Paella
This hearty and tasty dish is brimming with Spanish flavors. To give it the Peruvian flair, follow the example of Machu Picchu’s chef and exchange the rice in this recipe for quinoa. The paella name, by the way, comes from the paella pan in which it is prepared and served (large, flat, and shallow like a frying pan). It’s traditionally cooked with a variety of meats and shellfish, but this is a versatile enough recipe for you to experiment. You can add fresh seared chorizo instead of dry, or try substituting different types of seafoods and meats to make it your own!
Serves 8
1 large Spanish onion
1 large yellow onion
1 large green pepper
1 large red pepper
6 ounces hot, dry chorizo (Spanish sausage)
5-7 cloves fresh garlic
½ cup scallions
1 large red tomato
12-15 clams
1 pound mussels
8 ounces green peas
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts or 1 pound chicken tenders
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
12-15 large shrimp
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4-5 cups (at least 32 ounces) chicken stock, more as needed
1 pound white rice3
2 teaspoons crushed Spanish saffron
Dice the Spanish and yellow onions, the green and red peppers, and the chorizo. Mince the garlic and thinly slice the scallions. Peel and slice the tomato. Clean the clams. Clean and debeard the mussels. Cook the green peas. Cut chicken breasts into strips and season with salt and pepper. Peel and devein the shrimp, but keep the shells.
In a large pot, sauté the shrimp shells in 1⁄3 of the olive oil, until they turn pink. Add the stock and saffron, and simmer for thirty minutes. Strain out the shells and set aside the hot liquid.
Add another third of the olive oil and heat to medium-high. Sauté the chicken, browning on all sides, then remove.
Add the remaining oil, the onions, tomato, red and green peppers, and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so. Add the chorizo (dry or fresh) and rice. Make sure to stir the pot to coat the rice with oil.
Add the hot stock, the chicken, and the clams to the pot. Cover and reduce heat. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until the clams open. Do not stir during the cooking process.
Add the mussels and shrimp to the pot. Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes. Add more stock during this stage if necessary. With 1 minute left, add the precooked peas to reheat them. Garnish with scallions and serve immediately.
Lomo Saltado
This hearty dish is the Peruvian version of meat and potatoes. It’s a “mom and pop” meal with versions served in virtually every restaurant and home in Peru. Like spaghetti sauce, Mulligan stew, or shepherd’s pie, no two versions of lomo saltado are exactly alike. Make this dish your own by tossing in additional ingredients, such as a pureed tomato, or try different types of peppers. You can even marinate the meat for an hour prior to cooking. Use your favorite beef marinade recipe, or try soy sauce, or even cold coffee (which will impart an earthy note and help tenderize the meat).
Approximately 6 servings
Sirloin tips sliced thin, approximately two pounds
2-3 russet potatoes
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic
Tomato purée (optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 yellow onions
2 red onions
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
1 large (or 2 small) jalapeno pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup white rice (optional)
Cut the meat into thin strips and marinate for one to two hours (if desired).
Julienne and fry the unpeeled potatoes in a separate pan and keep them warm.
Now place a nonstick pan over medium heat and add the oil. Sauté the minced garlic and add the meat. When cooked through (two to three minutes) reserve the juice in a separate container.
Add the tomato purée (if desired), the sea salt, and ground pepper to the meat in the pan. Cook for a few minutes, then add the soy sauce while stirring the contents of the pan. Next add chopped onions, chopped peppers, oregano, and the chopped cilantro. Return the reserved juice from the meat to the pan. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
To serve, place meat and vegetables in a large serving dish and garnish with fried potatoes. In Peru, this dish is also served with cooked white rice.
Don’t Miss the Next Coffeehouse Mystery
Whether the order is a cappuccino, a latte, or a steaming hot espresso, Clare Cosi has become a master at warming up her customers on chilly winter nights. Then a corpse is served up—ice cold—and Clare is the one who’s left shivering. Has the barista sleuth finally stumbled upon a mystery that’s too hot to handle? Join Clare for a double shot of danger in her next Coffeehouse Mystery. Coming soon from Berkley Prime Crime.
For more information about the
Coffeehouse Mysteries and what’s next
for Clare Cosi and the Village Blend,
visit the author’s Web site at
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1
TIP: Be sure to start with blanched almonds. (To save time, look for slivered almonds in the store, which are already blanched). Toast the almonds by spreading them on a cookie sheet and baking them in the oven for about ten minutes (350°F.). Then you can grind the almonds in a food processor, or just put the nuts in a plastic bag and bang away at them with a cleaver until you have a powder. (I use a small coffee mill to grind my nuts and spices, but I only use it for that purpose. The mill you use to grind your whole bean coffee should only be used for coffee.)
2
For a quick shortcut, use peach nectar.
3
The highly nutritious grain quinoa (aka Inca rice, still popular in Peru after 5,000 years) may be substituted for regular rice in this recipe.