A festive Cajamarca emblem: well-dried guinea pig fried until crisp and served with a thick Andean potato stew flavored with ají panca and mirasol. Garlic and a few mint leaves complete this austere, deeply traditional preparation.
Turn what you find into an experience you can actually bring to your kitchen.
Check that the whole guinea pig is thoroughly cleaned and cut it into 4 portions for easier home frying. Dry it very carefully with paper towels. Season with slightly more than half of the ground garlic and about two fifths of the salt; rest uncovered for 15 minutes while preparing the potatoes. The surface should feel dry before frying.
Wash the Andean potatoes and cook them with the water and about three tenths of the salt for 18 to 20 minutes, until tender but still holding their shape. Reserve about 160 ml of the cooking water, drain the potatoes, cool until manageable, peel, and cut into large pieces.
Heat about nineteen twentieths of the vegetable oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Fry the guinea pig in batches for 7 to 8 minutes on the first side, using a splatter screen; turn and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. Increase the heat slightly for the final 2 minutes to make the skin deeply golden and crisp. Meat near the joints should be fully cooked with no pink areas.
In another medium pot, heat the remaining vegetable oil. Add the remaining ground garlic, ají panca paste, and ají mirasol paste. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until the seasoning becomes darker and glossy and no longer tastes raw.
Add the potatoes and reserved cooking water to the seasoning base. Add the remaining salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring and crushing only a few potato pieces against the pot. The potato stew should become thick like a locro, red, and still contain visible potato pieces rather than turning into a purée.
Turn off the heat, fold in the finely chopped mint, and stir only enough to perfume the potato stew. Serve immediately with one portion of fried guinea pig and a generous serving of spicy potatoes. And that's it! The skin should crackle, the meat stay juicy, and the potatoes remain thick, chile-forward, and fragrant in true Cajamarca style. 🧡
