Picarones: finger-licking good!

Picarones are a beloved classic of Peruvian cuisine for two reasons: first, because they represent genuine, rustic home cooking, and second, because they are absolutely divine! Once you take that first bite, it's impossible to think of anything else—except placing your next order.

These are, in essence, fritters made from a batter of squash (usually pumpkin) and sweet potato. They're dropped into hot oil for just a few seconds, with a hole poked in the center that gives them their distinctive ring shape. Once cooked, picarones are dipped in a luscious chancaca syrup—a wonderfully thick, honeyed concoction.

The Origins of Picarones in Peruvian Gastronomy

This remarkably affordable dessert represents a beautiful fusion of Incan cuisine and Spanish colonial cooking. During the colonial period, Spanish settlers often couldn't find all the ingredients they were accustomed to, or when they could, they were prohibitively expensive. So they drew inspiration from Incan cuisine, using sweet potatoes and squash to create a fritter batter—thus, picarones were born.

A Quick Peruvian Cooking Lesson: The Picarones Recipe!

Ingredients

This recipe makes picarones for 5 people, though you'll want to prepare more—they become irresistible, and appetite grows with each bite!

• 250g sweet potato
• 250g pumpkin or squash flesh
• 1½ tablespoons white sugar or brown sugar
• 1 beaten egg
• 250g all-purpose flour
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon anise seeds
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• Oil for frying
• 1 pinch of salt

For the chancaca syrup:

• 250g chancaca (or substitute dark brown sugar, adding an extra ½ cup water)
• 1 orange peel
• 2 cups water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 clove

Preparing the Picarones

1. Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil with the clove, anise seeds, and cinnamon stick. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then strain.

2. Cut the sweet potato and pumpkin into chunks and cook them in this infused water until tender. Remove the vegetables and let them cool for about 20 minutes.

3. Strain the remaining cooking liquid, reserving about 2 large cups. Stir in the sugar and baking powder, then let rest for about 5 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, mash the pumpkin and sweet potatoes together. Add salt, the 2 cups of reserved liquid, and the beaten egg, then stir until well combined. Gradually add flour, mixing until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers. Let the mixture rest for an hour so the baking powder can activate and lighten the dough.

5. To cook, pull off balls of dough one at a time, poke a hole through the center with your finger, and carefully drop them into hot oil until golden brown.

Preparing the Chancaca Syrup

1. Take a block of chancaca (dark brown sugar), crush it, and add 2 cups of water along with the spices and orange peel.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15–20 minutes until you have a beautiful, rich brown syrup. Strain to remove the cloves and orange peel.

Now you're ready to enjoy picarones just as you discovered them during your time in Perú.