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Prep time
12 hours
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Cook time
15 minutes
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Serves
4
Author Notes
Across Latin America, rice and beans are a staple rooted in slavery—and each country has its own version. Spain’s colonial foodways may have introduced ingredients like rice to the Americas, but it was Black slaves who cooked bean stews. In Peru, Afro-descended women fried leftover rice and canary beans with lard to make tacu tacu, a dish whose name comes from the Quechua word taku, which means “mixed.” Today, tacu tacu is part of Peru’s creole cuisine, and there are many popular variations. Montaditos are tacu tacu fritters topped with steak, fried egg, or shrimp; tacu tacu relleno is tossed, rolled, and shaped like an ellipsoid stuffed with seafood sauce. I often cook a vegan tacu tacu with leftovers of long-grain white rice and red lentils, and I like how the creaminess of the soft cooked lentils holds the rice together. The recipe describes a basic lentil preparation; and you can omit the aromatics for simplicity. A red onion aderezo with ají amarillo—Peru’s native yellow hot pepper—adds heat. And shaping it like a round cake makes it easy to slice into several servings for sharing. Tangy salsa criolla topping, or pickled red onions, complements the flavors in the tacu tacu, while coffee and baguette make it a full savory breakfast.
—Nico Vera
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Ingredients
- Lentils
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2 tablespoons
neutral oil
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1/2 cup
finely chopped red onion
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1
garlic clove, minced
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Kosher salt, to taste
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Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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1 cup
dried red lentils
- Tacu Tacu
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1 cup
cooked red lentils, refrigerated overnight
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1/2 cup
cooked long-grain white rice, refrigerated overnight
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2 tablespoons
neutral oil, plus more as needed
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1/2 cup
finely chopped red onion
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1
garlic clove, minced
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2 teaspoons
ají amarillo paste
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1 pinch
cumin powder
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1 pinch
dried oregano
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Kosher salt, to taste
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Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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Olive oil, for drizzling
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1/4 cup
pickled red onion, for garnish (optional)
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4 sprigs
cilantro sprigs, leaves only, for garnish (optional)
Directions
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In a 3-quart pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste, then sauté until the onion becomes translucent. Add the lentils and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the lentils uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mixture is creamy but not loose. Once cool, reserve 1 cup of the cooked lentils to refrigerate overnight for tacu tacu (the recipe makes 2 cups).
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In a bowl, combine the chilled leftover lentils and rice, using a fork to mash into a uniform mixture.
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In an 8-inch nonstick (or carbon steel) skillet, heat the neutral oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ají amarillo, cumin, and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onion becomes translucent, about 2 minutes.
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Add the lentils and rice to the skillet. Use a spatula to fold and mix well with the sautéed onion mixture until any excess moisture from the lentils has evaporated, about 1 minute.
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Use a spatula to press down and flatten the rice and lentil mixture into a round “cake” that covers the entire surface of the skillet. The cake should be about 7 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick.
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Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the skillet with a lid or with the underside of a quarter sheet pan to retain heat and moisture. Cook until the bottom of the rice and lentil cake is golden brown, about 10 minutes. If you don't see oil bubbling around the edges of the skillet, add a little more oil. Turn off the heat.
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Uncover the skillet and use the edge of the spatula to separate the edge of the cake from the side of the skillet—the bottom should be brown. Gently slide the skillet back and forth a few times to loosen it from the bottom of the skillet.
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Place a flat plate upside down over the skillet. Hold the plate and skillet together and swiftly invert them so that the cake falls gently onto the plate, browned side up. Remove the skillet to uncover the plate.
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Slice the rice and lentil cake into quarters and use a spatula to carefully serve the slices on small plates. If the slices break apart, use the spatula to reshape them. Drizzle each slice with olive oil and top with pickled red onion and cilantro.
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