Unique in flavor and presentation, this dish hails from the Amazon and is not as complicated to make as you’d think. Here’s the recipe.
Regional variations exist of juane. Some include various kinds of meats, including the tasty cecina (smoked pork), while others are made with yuca (cassava) instead of rice. It’s believed that the name derives from the arrival of Spanish missionaries in Peru, who celebrated the feast of St. John the Baptist (San Juan). It continues to be widely consumed in the celebration that takes place on June 24.
Ingredients to make the rice filling:
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 kilo of rice
750 ml of beef stock
Ingredients for the chicken:
4 chicken legs
1/2 tablespoon of salt
1/2 tablespoon of pepper
1/2 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of butter
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of turmeric
4 tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon of oregano
2 laurel leaves
2 bunches of sacha culantro (jungle cilantro) – use cilantro as substitute
5 aji dulce (small sweet chili peppers) – use other types of chili as substitute or bell peppers for no spice
250 ml of beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs (to beat)
2 boiled eggs
4 bijao leaves – you can find these in Latin American supermarkets or substitute with banana leaves or foil
Olives
Preparation
In a sauté pan add vegetable oil, sauté garlic, add rice and beef stock. Let rice cook. Meanwhile prepare the chicken legs with salt, pepper, cumin. Massage chicken with seasonings. Add butter and chicken legs to another pan, let them brown and add onion, garlic, turmeric, tomatoes, oregano, laurel leaves, chopped sacha culantro or regular cilantro, peppers, and beef stock. Mix and let the chicken cook.
Take out chicken, set aside, and add salt and pepper to the vegetable mix. Then add rice and mix together. Place in pyrex and let cool. Add 4 beaten eggs and mix. Place four to five spoon fulls of the rice to the center of the leaf and add the chicken leg vertically downward. Place half a boiled egg and one olive before tying up the leaf with string. Boil in water for 30 minutes.
Cover photo: jpc.raleigh/Flickr
