~523 cal · 37g protein · 46g carbs · 21g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Stuffed red peppers capped with melted cheese, potato slices beside
🇵🇪 Arequipa
The rocoto looks like a friendly bell pepper and burns like a secret — Arequipa’s picanterías triple-blanch it into submission before stuffing. Sweet raisins against the heat is the signature southern-Peru move.
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Make it yours
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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4 (+1) rocotos (or red bell peppers + 1 habanero for honesty)
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1 lb ground beef
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1 red onion
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4 cloves garlic
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2 tbsp ají panca paste (or mild chile paste)
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1/3 cup + 1/3 cup raisins + black olives, chopped
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1 hard-boiled egg, chopped (for the filling)
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4 thick queso fresco or mozzarella slices (the cap)
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1/2 cup evaporated milk (for the baking bath)
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2 potatoes, thick slices
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1 tsp each cumin + oregano
Instructions
1
Cap and seed the peppers. Blanch three times in fresh boiling water with a spoon of sugar — this tames the rocoto’s fire to a warm glow.
2
Brown the beef (or lentil-mushroom) with onion, garlic, ají panca, cumin, and oregano; fold in raisins, olives, and egg.
3
Stuff the peppers, cap with cheese, and replace their little hats.
4
Set on potato slices in a baking dish, pour the evaporated milk around, and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.
5
Serve each pepper on its potatoes with the pan cream spooned over — sweet, fiery, and utterly Arequipa.
Arequipa picantería tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Arequipa. The white city whose picanterías stuff fire into peppers.
🗺️
Peru. Coast, mountain, and jungle — plus a wave of Japanese and Chinese influence.
🌍
South America. Andes, Amazon, and Atlantic all on one plate.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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