Name: Espesado de Lunes
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 2 pounds fresh or frozen corn kernels (choclo); 1/2 cup Zapallo or butternut squash, cut into 1/4-inch dice; 6 sprigs fresh cilantro, sliced; 6 garlic cloves, sliced; 1 small onion, sliced (1/4 cup); 2/3 cup water; 4 cups (1 quart) water; 2 pounds boneless beef brisket or chuck, cut into 16 pieces; 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 1/2 pound yuca, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice; 1/2 pound shelled fresh fava beans (optional, but traditional)

Beef Stew

Editor's Note: This recipe and introductory text are excerpted from The Exotic Kitchens of Peru, by Copeland Marks. We've also added some tips of our own below.

For a complete guide to Peruvian cuisine, click here.

This is a special dish that is only prepared on Mondays. My teacher told me that everyone she knew cooked Espesado on Mondays, a ritual that is universally accepted. In the clean and complete Central Market of Chiclayo, a number of the small eating shops were dispensing this to diners who knew what they wanted and expected it on Mondays.

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