Rich and deeply savory, patita con maní combines tender, gelatinous beef foot and potatoes in a Creole chile sauce thickened with toasted peanuts. The sauce clings to every bite with the kind of depth that makes another spoonful over rice hard to resist.
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Check the beef foot and rinse it well if needed. Place it in the pressure cooker with all the water and part of the salt. Seal the cooker and cook for 45 minutes once full pressure is reached; turn off the heat and let the pressure release naturally for about 10 minutes before opening according to your cooker's safety instructions. The gelatinous meat should be very tender and pull away easily from the bone.
Remove the beef foot and reserve its cooking broth. Once cool enough to handle, separate the edible portion from the bone and cut it into medium pieces. Meanwhile, finely chop the red onion, remove the veins and seeds from the yellow chili and mince it finely, then peel the potatoes and cut them into medium cubes.
Heat the oil in a large pot and cook the red onion for 7 to 8 minutes, until very soft and just beginning to brown. Add the garlic, ají panca paste, yellow chili, cumin, black pepper, oregano, and another portion of the salt; cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often, until the aderezo is red, glossy, and no longer smells of raw chile.
Blend the toasted peanuts with about 350 ml of the reserved broth until thick and smooth. Add the chopped beef foot to the aderezo, pour in the peanut mixture, and add about three quarters of the chopped mint. Cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring so the peanuts do not stick, until the sauce begins to coat the spoon.
Add the white potatoes and enough reserved broth to keep the stew loose without completely covering it. Cook for 14 to 16 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and the sauce is thick, glossy, and clinging to the beef foot. If it reduces too quickly before the potatoes are ready, add a little more of the same broth.
Stir in the remaining mint and salt, then turn off the heat. Serve the patita piping hot with the cooked white rice. If the sauce is rich, the peanuts taste toasted, and the beef foot almost yields to the spoon, it is right where it should be—the kind of stew that makes mixing a little more into the rice almost inevitable. Done! 🥘
