{"id":31109,"date":"2022-09-13T12:55:24","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T12:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/?p=31109"},"modified":"2022-09-18T23:33:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-18T23:33:00","slug":"titas-falso-conejo-or-bolivian-beef-cutlets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familiakitchen.com\/es\/titas-falso-conejo-or-bolivian-beef-cutlets\/","title":{"rendered":"Rita's Falso Conejo o chuletas de res boliviana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Falso conejo is one of the traditional Bolivian recipes Rita Jimenez makes sure to eat every time she travels home to Cochabamba, in the central Andes valley. The dish\u2019s name means\u2014delighfully\u2014\u201cfake rabbit\u201d and it is on Rita\u2019s shortlist of forever favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did this savory meal with its rich tomato-onion-peas sauce get its name? Rita smiles and shrugs. \u201dViene de siempre y no se sabe porque.\u201d It\u2019s been called that forever and no one really knows how it came to be, she explains. \u201cThere are many names in Bolivian cuisine that you wonder how they came about. This is one of them. We make jokes about it all the time\u2014is it rabbit? Is it lamb? And no one truly knows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The star ingredient of falso conejo is thinly sliced beef, which is tenderized and dredged in bread crumbs. The cutlets are then shallow-fried and cooked in a delicioso sauce of tomatoes, onions, Bolivian yellow or red ajies or peppers, carrots, and bright green peas. The resulting dish is traditionally served with white rice and boiled potatoes\u2014that\u2019s right, both. Carb-on-carb double treat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes together pretty quickly, making falso conejo \u201dan everyday meal in Bolivian homes. It\u2019s the kind of thing you eat often, perhaps every two weeks. It\u2019s very popular. I grew up watching my grandmother and aunts make it all the time,\u201d says Rita, who met her husband, Jim, while attending college in the States. Since 1972, the couple has lived in the same Wellesley, Mass. home where they raised their children and now live near their grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Falso
Falso conejo\u2014its name means, delightfully: “fake rabbit\u201d\u2014is a favorite dish in Bolivian homecooking.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Key to the signature flavor of this traditional recipe is the medium-spicy, earthy Bolivian yellow or red ajies. You might be able to find these peppers in your local Latino market, says Rita. If you can\u2019t, she recommends substituting with Mexican chile guajillo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dIt\u2019s not just because I\u2019m a Bolivian,\u201d says Rita, \u201dbut in Bolivia you eat the best food. There is so much variety and you can find everything. We have an endless variety. Nothing is ever lacking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was recently in Bolivia, and I was so impressed at how well you eat there,\u201d says Rita. \u201cThere is such a great variety of dishes. We didn\u2019t eat the same food two days in a row.\u201d Including this one? Definitely, she says. Falso conejo is a recipe you find in most restaurants, and one of the ones she and her husband Tim make a point to eat at least once when they travel to her homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more of her must-try Bolivian dishes, check out Rita\u2019s family recipe for quinoa with aji colorados<\/a>\u2014quinoa with Bolivia’s signature red peppers. It’s yet another Bolivian recipe that may just find its way into your homecooking weeknight rotation. It certainly has for us here at Familia Kitchen. Gracias, Rita.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to try Rita\u2019s Falso Conejo Beef Cutlets?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Rita\u2019s Falso Conejo or Bolivian Beef Cutlets in Sauce<\/h2>\n\n
\n \t\t \t\t\tRecipe by Rita Jimenez<\/span>\n \t\t\n
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  • <\/li><\/ul>4.2<\/small> from<\/small> 5<\/small> votes<\/small><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/div>\n\t\t
    \n Cuisine: Bolivian<\/mark><\/span> <\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t
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    <\/span>Servings<\/span>

    5<\/p>servings<\/span><\/div>

    <\/span>Prep time<\/span>

    20<\/p>minutes<\/span><\/div>

    <\/span>Cooking time<\/span>

    35<\/p>minutes<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n \n\t\t\n\t\t\t

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    Ingredients<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> lb<\/span> beef, thinly sliced into 5 cutlets<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1\/2<\/span> cup<\/span> bread crumbs<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      3<\/span> Tbsp<\/span> olive oil<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      2<\/span> onions, finely chopped<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> tomato, finely chopped<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      2<\/span> carrots, thinly sliced<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> Tbsp<\/span> allspice<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> Tbsp<\/span> parsley, finely chopped<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1<\/span> tsp<\/span> salt, or to taste<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1\/2<\/span> tsp<\/span> sugar<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1 to 2<\/span> aji colorado or amarillo, small<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      2<\/span> cups<\/span> water or broth<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      1\/2<\/span> cup<\/span> peas<\/span><\/p><\/li>

    • <\/span>

      Salt, to taste<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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      Directions<\/h3>\n\t\t\t
      • Slice the beef into thin filets, about 4 to 5 pieces. Tenderize with a meat mallet or heavy object wrapped in plastic wrap, until the pieces are evenly thin. <\/li>
      • Season the beef slices with salt and pepper. <\/li>
      • Pour the bread crumbs into a wide bowl or plate. Press each beef cutlet in the bread crumbs, coasting both sides evenly. Set aside.<\/li>
      • In a saucepan, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil. Turn off the heat. Steep the dried yellow or red aji peppers in the hot water. <\/li>
      • After 15 minutes., strain the peppers. Remove the seeds and stems. <\/li>
      • Place the peppers in a blender, with 1 or 2 Tbsp of the aji water from the saucepan. Blend the chiles into a paste. Set aside.<\/li>
      • Warm 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Shallow fry the beef for about 3 minutes until the first side browns. Turn over and shallow fry the second side. Set aside on a plate.<\/li>
      • Finely chop the tomato and the onion. <\/li>
      • Peel and slice the carrot into rounds.<\/li>
      • In the same saucepan with the brown bits from the beef, warm the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil on low heat.<\/li>
      • Saut\u00e9 the onion, tomato and carrots, allspice, parsley and sugar until the onions are soft and translucent.<\/li>
      • Add the aji paste and the water. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.<\/li>
      • Add the peas and cook for 15 minutes.<\/li>
      • Add the golden-brown, shallow-fried culets to the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, so that the beef takes on the flavor of the sauce.<\/li>
      • Serve 1 beef cutlet per person, with a large spoonful or two of sauce, over steamed white rice, with a side of boiled potatoes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t
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        Notes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t
        • Red and yellow ajies are a defining ingredient in Bolivian cuisine. If you can\u2019t find these peppers at your local Latino market, Rita recommends using Mexican guajillo chiles instead. Some Bolivian homecooks think New Mexican dried-red peppers more closely approximate the traditional taste of this dish.<\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n \n\t\n\t\t\t