Name: Oca, Cushuro, Cañihua and Tree Tomato
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Peru
Ingredients: 2 oz. (60 g) cañihua; Oxalis flowers; 4 oca tubers; 1 oz. (30 g) garlic; 3½ oz. (100 g) cushuro; Cañihua leaves; ½ cup (100 ml) olive oil; 5 sachatomate (tree tomatoes); 2 Tbsp. (25 ml) olive oil for cooking oca; 1 Tbsp. olive oil for dressing cushuro

Oca is a yam cultivated on the Andean plateau. Drying makes it sweeter, hence the confit. The sachatomate or tree tomato is indeed very like a tomato in appearance but is a fruit, rich in both umami and sweetness.

Ingredients

4 oca tubers
2 Tbsp. (25 ml) olive oil for cooking oca

Method

Cook oca in olive oil in a vacuum bag at 185°F (85°C) for 45 minutes. Dress cushuro with olive oil. Cook cañihua in boiling water for 8 minutes. Keep warm.

To make the tree tomato emulsion, first peel and deseed the tree tomatoes and cut them open into “tomato petals.” Roast them in an oven for 30 minutes at 300°F (150°C). Slow-cook the garlic in the olive oil to make confit. Purée the