Rocoto relleno

Rocoto relleno is a Peruvian dish of rocoto chillies stuffed with a seasoned minced beef filling and baked until the pepper is soft and the topping has set. It is most closely associated with the city of Arequipa in southern Peru.

What it really is

Rocoto relleno is built on the rocoto, a thick-walled, round Andean chilli that is hot and fleshy. The peppers are cut open at the top, seeded, and the flesh is partly softened before stuffing. The filling is minced beef cooked with onion, garlic, aji panca or ground chilli, cumin and sometimes raisins, olives and hard-boiled egg. Each pepper is topped with slices of queso fresco or a mild white cheese, then covered with a sauce of beaten egg and milk. It is baked until the topping is firm.

The dish is often confused with other stuffed peppers from Latin America, such as chiles rellenos from Mexico, which use milder chillies that are battered and fried. Rocoto relleno is baked rather than fried, and the rocoto itself is much hotter and has a thicker wall. It is normally served with potatoes and a side of salad.

How it's served

• Served warm as a main course, usually with boiled potatoes.
• Often accompanied by a simple salad of lettuce or tomato and onion.
• Eaten with a fork and knife, cutting through the pepper wall and filling together.
• Commonly served in homes and in traditional Arequipa restaurants, especially at lunch.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the key ingredients: rocoto chilli, minced beef, cheese and egg topping.
• Flag EGGS and MILK, which are in the topping, and state the dish is baked.
• State the heat level, since rocoto is much hotter than most stuffed peppers.
• Common variants include versions with olives, raisins or hard-boiled egg in the filling; state which is served.