The fall season is upon us and as the chill air begins to creep in, it is time to take out those coats and start warming yourself up with delicious fall foods. Nothing screams out seasonal change like the classic look and smells of pumpkin, sweet potato, cinnamon and clove. These iconic food items have been engraved into our memories, having become key ingredients for the holiday season and are now a part of the American tradition. The best part of using these fall ingredients, such as pumpkin and sweet potatoes, is that they offer an array of nutrients like iron, and calcium, but specifically vitamin A and vitamin C. They also offer health benefits from their phytonutrient, beta carotene, with its antioxidant power to immune boosting strength
Given that the fall season is here with an abundance of pumpkin and sweet potato love, I would like to introduce a classic dessert that is near and dear to my heart, picarones. As a kid, my family and I use to go to the street vendors to eat these delicious morsels, as a Sunday treat. Finally, after many years living in the United States and two Peruvian superfood cookbooks, I finally decided to make picarones at home. A fried dough, in the doughnut family, picarones are anise-sweetened, deep fried pastries from Peru. Although they are deep fried, these bad-boys are made with pumpkin and sweet potato. How can you say "no" to that? In Peru, the word "picaron" actually refers to someone as a "flirt" or "tease," and rightfully so since these doughnut shaped treats will tease your taste buds. Living in Peru, picarones are a must have dessert that everyone enjoys.
As I always say, one of the main ingredients needed for any recipe is love, and this one for sure is going to need love and patience. Making this recipes takes time, but it is well worth the wait, at least to all my friends who have tried picarones have come to love and enjoy the flavors, and keep coming back for more. The making of picarones requires a little bit of skill, but definitely not impossible. This is why I am writing this post to give you a good direction. You can also watch my video to visualize the steps better.
Picarones
Servings: 12 Serving Size: 3 each (each one is about 60g)
Ingredients for Picarones
300 grams sweet potato, cooked
3 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
1 tablespoon anise seeds
300 grams pumpkin, cooked or canned puree
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 package rapid rise active yeast
600 grams all-purpose flour
1 ½ cup cooking water (from sweet potato & pumpkin)
4-6 cups canola oil
2 cups water
Ingredients for Chancaca Sauce
600 g chancaca, piloncillo, panela or brown sugar
3 cups of water
3 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
1 tablespoon anise seeds
Peel of 1 orange
Directions for Picarones
- Peel and cut the sweet potato into ½ inch cubes. If you are not using canned pumpkin puree, cut and peel the pumpkin as you would the sweet potato. Place in a pot and fill it up with cold water. Add the anise seeds, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until sweet potato is cooked through.
Directions for Chancaca Sauce
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine all of the ingredients with water to cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the syrup thickens lightly. It should have the texture of maple syrup. Strain and discard the spices and peel. Cool to room temperature before serving.
All recipes and photos by Manuel Villacorta, MS, RD
Manuel Villacorta is a nationally recognized, award-winning registered dietitian/nutritionist with more than 18 years of experience. He is a trusted voice in the health and wellness industry. He is the author of Eating Free: The Carb Friendly Way to Lose Inches, Embrace Your Hunger, and Keep Weight Off for Good (HCI, 2012) Peruvian Power Foods: 18 Superfoods, 101 Recipes, and Anti-Aging Secrets from the Amazon to the Andes (HCI, 2013) and his newest book Whole Body Reboot: The Peruvian Superfoods Diet to Detoxify, Energize, and Supercharge Fat Loss (HCI, 2015).