Inca Gaucho: A Culinary Journey Through Peru and Argentina
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- Written by Judie Dweck
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Peru and Argentina were very exciting vacation spots for me in the 1970s. Most recently, I had the pleasure of revisiting South America via White Plains at the new Inca Gaucho Restaurant, where many traditional culinary treasures were brought to life again. Inca Gaucho Restaurant is owned by partners Luis Zarate and Edgar Lopez. If the restaurant name is familiar, they were involved in the longtime Inca Gaucho Restaurant in Portchester. Their White Plains venue seats about 70 guests. Zarate indicated that the best part of his culinary involvement is interacting with guests and seeing happy people dining. "It gives me great pleasure to see people smile when they complete a meal with us. In the future we hope to expand so people become familiar with our cuisine."
The black leather menus have inserts of colorful woven fabric native of Peru. The restaurant's décor is colorful, with paintings and artifacts from Peru. Authentic Peruvian ponchos grace the walls, as well. In addition to the dining rooms, there is a bar and lounge area.
The menu embraces the immense diversity of the Peruvian repertoire from its Spanish influence to the indigenous style of the Inca culture, and dishes from the immigrant groups that make Peru their home.
Heading the kitchen is the lovely and talented Chef Angela Vildoso. She attended culinary school in Peru, taught there, and worked in many restaurants. She has been in New York for a year and a half. "My goal is for Peruvian dishes to be known all over our country. My happiness comes when people compliment my dishes. I make everything with love, and our guests fall in love with the food."
Luis Zarate and his cousin, Hugo Yanez, guided me through the menu. Appearing on the table was a bowl of roasted large corn kernels and a green sauce, prepared with milk, cilantro, and pepper, not for the faint of heart. It was a wake-up-your-appetite starter. The appetizer selections were numerous, both familiar and new to me. In a country where there are about 48 varieties of potato, we enjoyed a plate of sliced potatoes with a variety of sauces, classic huancaina, red pepper and basil varieties. The mild potato slices took on the spicy flavors of the sauces. Cold mashed potatoes may not sound appealing, but when they are the base of causa rellena they become a very special celebratory dish. The potatoes are infused with key lime juice and yellow pepper, layered with chunks of chicken and shaped into a mold. Garnished with greens, olives and hard boiled egg they are a delight to the eye as well as the taste. I was excited to sample a quartet of ceviches. Slivers of red onion, sliced red pepper mingled with the citrus marinated fish loved the olive sauce, the spicy yellow sauce and red pepper varieties. They were traditionally served with a slice of large kernel corn on the cob and sweet and yellow potatoes. New to me was an appetizer of choritos a la chalaca. Fresh large mussels were topped with a tangy tomato and onion salsa and returned to the shell. They were light and perfect on a warm day. Slurping them, as you would an oyster, they were a true delight. 
For my next appetizer, I was brought back to the street corners of Lima, where I remember feasting on anticuchos de Corazon. At Inca Gaucho I savored these grilled skewers with beef, chicken and shrimp, rather than with the traditional beef hearts. They were beautifully marinated and traditionally served with corn on the cob , potato segments and a very hot sauce. One could easily make a meal of several appetizers at Inca Gaucho. We have yet to try, empanadas, tiradito, a Peruvian style sashimi, and matambre, an Argentine beef stuffed pinwheel. If a bowl of soup is your desire, there are several to choose from. We just loved the parahuela, a seafood meal in a bowl. This seafood lovers dream included, fish, calamari, shrimp, crab legs, clams and mussels swimming in a rich herb infused seafood broth. Cumin, cilantro, ginger and lime juice added a superior flavor to this hearty large entrée sized bowl of soup. It was a Peruvian answer to bouillabaisse.
We moved onto entrees. We enjoyed a classic Peruvian sautéed dish which was offered in many varieties. Our lomo saltado consisted of tender slices of steak, tossed with sautéed tomatoes and onion. This was set atop, you guessed it, fried potatoes. A mound of rice shared the plate for an excellent entrée. Like every dish at Inca Gaucho, the portions are very generous. In honor of the restaurant's name, we clearly enjoyed many Peruvian dishes, some of which are influenced by other cultures such as pasta or tallarini from their Italian population and chaufa, fried rice, from there Asian population. In reverence to the cuisine of Argentina, there is a large selection of grilled dishes.Parrillada Gaucho, a combination of grilled foods and churrasco gaucho, sirloin steak are among the grilled offerings. With such an extensive menu, It amazes me that the kitchen can handle it so well.
We saved a bit of room for desserts, all of which are homemade. A glass of sweet classic chichi morada accompanied our alfajoes. These cookie wafer are filled with dulce de leche and dusted with powdered sugar. Just perfect to end our meal. We also sampled some of Chef Angela's homemade ice creams of lucuma, a native fruit, chiramoya and passion fruit. Nicely presented in parfait glasses and topped with whipped cream they were refreshing. I will return to try the picarones, mazamorra morada, a purple corn pudding and arroz con leche.
It will take many visits to sample the interesting dishes at Inca Gaucho Restaurant, where it is exciting to indulge in yet another cuisine, served in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Try it soon!
Inca Gaucho Restaurant
6 Quarropas Street
White Plains
(914) 607 7962
Recipe: Causa Rellena [Serves 4-6 Appetizers]
2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
½ cup oil
¼ cup lime or lemon juice
2-3 Tbsps. aji Amarillo chili paste*
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups diced chicken breast
2-3 hard boiled eggs sliced
6-8 pitted black olives
• Available at Latin markets
Put potatoes in a large pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil. Cook until tender throughout. Rain and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel them. Put them through a ricer or mash until smooth. Stir in the oil, pepper paste, salt and pepper and lime or lemon juice. Line a casserole dish with plastic wrap and press it down evenly. Spread half of the potato mixture at the bottom of the dish and smooth it out. Spread the chicken over the potatoes evenly. Spread the remaining potatoes evenly over the filling. Press down gently. Cover it and chill it thoroughly. Remove from refrigerator and discard the plastic on top. Lay your serving platter, upside down over the casserole. With both hands flip the entire dish over so the causa is on the serving plate. Peel off the remaining plastic. Garnish with eggs and olives. Cut into portions and serve.
SVAC Performs Emergency Drill
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Tragedy from gun violence is making headlines daily. Members of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps (SVAC) sought to make sure that should Scarsdale ever be in danger, they were best equipped to handle it. From Friday, June 2nd to Sunday, June 4th, SVAC ran a Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TACC) exercise using a training program from the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT). The program was designed to teach volunteers how to minimize casualties and protect others in an "Active Shooter" situation. Participants in the drill included SVAC volunteers, volunteer "victims" who had been made-up with moulage to simulate injury, a military policeman, and Sergeant Tim Behrmann. David Raizen, an expert on emergency response said that the event gave him a greater knowledge on how to protect himself in these situations, as well as a different respect for police going into these difficult situations. Below are photographs of the simulation taken by Jon Thaler. You can see more photos here. 
League of Women Voters Examines Fake News at Annual Luncheon
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On Friday, May 19th, the Scarsdale League of Women Voters hosted their annual luncheon at Scarsdale Golf Club with guest speaker William Grueskin. Grueskin, a professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a career journalist spoke on a topic that affected all voters in the recent Presidential election; fake news. He showed some alarming statistics about the rise of news and news sources that were not only biased but entirely fabricated. This news has become difficult to contain as it quickly goes viral on social media. The people who create these sites and these articles are paid advertising revenue based on the number of clicks they receive on their page. As a result, they have learned how to maximize the spread of their false messages and fake news is becoming a real problem.
Grueskin emphasized the importance of teaching people how to separate fake news from actual news. He believes that the obligation to stop the dispersion of false new lies with not only with the distributors of the false content, but with those who read it and inadvertently support it. He emphasized the importance of learning how to distinguish between real and fake news and encouraged educators to help students read critically and recognize the signs of fabricated news stories.
He showed examples of fake news stories that claimed to be from news sources that don't exist such as the "Denver Guardian" or the "Weekly World News." He also showed how to spot fake URL's such as abcnews.com.co that at first glance look like verifiable news sources but are actually impostors.
The Scarsdale Teachers Institute is educating the school faculty about the issue by offering upcoming courses on this very topic; "Finding the Truth When All News is Fake: Developing Critical and Media Literacies through Digital Writing and Media Production."
The luncheon was the final meeting of the year for LWVS President Deb Morel. Janice Starr, who will serve as a Co-President next year with Linda Doucette Ashman, thanked Morel for a job well done. "Deb was the perfect person to embody the League's consensus driven decision-making as she listened to everyone's point of view, left no stone unturned, and was able to encourage the group to come to a consensus but never forced the issue" said Starr, "We need to continue in our mission and continue Deb's legacy to bring people together to make the best decision."
Recycle Your Obsolete Electronics
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Here's your chance to recycle your obsolete electronics, phones, ipads, ink cartridges, chargers and more. The Robotic Raiders, a club at Scarsdale Middle School dedicated to constucting robots, have started an e-recycling fundraiser. Please consider donating old and/or broken electronics to the SMS robotics team. Donators can drop items off in the clear bin outside the main office of Scarsdale Middle School.
The team is collecting empty ink cartridges and old/broken cell phones, tablets, ebooks, GPS, cameras and video cameras, calculators, video game consoles, games and accessories.
For more info on what is accepted please check out this website. You can also purchase discounted eco-friendly ink cartridges through the site. The club recieves a portion of the proceeds from purchased ink cartridges bought. A portion of all recycled materials and eco-friendly ink cartridges goes to the team to purchase new robot supplies and helps them fund trips to competitions.
Email [email protected] with any questions.
The Robotic Raiders thank you in advance!
PTA Honors Retirees
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On Wednesday May 10th, the Scarsdale PTA hosted their annual luncheon to honor the 13 retiring teachers at Scarsdale High School. The lunch began with some PTA business. The PTA budget was approved and so was the executive committee slate for next year. PTA President Amy Song announced that the PTA had been given an award for most members in a Westchester PTA unit, and had gained an impressive 1,056 new members over just the last year. The PTA will be lead next year by President Beth Zadek; President-Elect Karen Ceske; Vice President of Membership Melissa Berridge; Vice President of Volunteers and Programming, Eileen Donovan; Treasurer Nancy Brady; Corresponding Secretary Aileen Burke; and Recording Secretary Kathleen Campbell.
Dean Oren Iosepovici and teacher George Olivier presented their findings from a recent study about homework and stress and detailed the steps the school is taking to improve wellness. The high school has implemented some changes over the past year with a focus on decreasing homework load, namely by not allowing homework to be given over breaks. They said that this particular initiative had been very successful and popular among students, some who said this was the first time in a long time they had experienced a "real" break. Statistics from the surveys showed that while homework time seems to have been reduced from last year and the school is making real progress, there is still quite a bit of change that needs to occur. In upcoming years the wellness committee is looking into differentiation of homework distribution based on class level and qualitative changes in the homework being assigned.
A representative from STEP, or Student Transfer Education Plan, explained their program to the attendees. It is a two-year college preparatory initiative for promising students of color. STEP students attend SHS in their junior and senior years while staying with a Scarsdale host family, and the program gives them access to an incredible education and an incredible experience. A current STEP student then spoke about the positive influence STEP has been on her life. The initiative is currently looking for a host family for the upcoming years. You can learn more about them on their website.
The grand finale was, of course, the farewell to the retirees. Principal Bonamo gave a heartfelt speech about the wisdom that each of the teachers had given to the school. Stories were then read about every one of the retirees, one by one. The stories were submitted to the PTA by a mixture of current and former students, as well as peers, parents, and administrators.
Each story spoke to the unique kindness displayed by their teachers and the guidance they provided to their students.Now doubt they will continue teaching in new ways, and we wish them all the best. Best wishes to the retirees:
Robert Arrigo
Hannah Beals
Steven Boyar
Louise Ciffone
Ernest Collabolletta
Ann-Marie Donohue
Michael Gibbs
Gwendolyn Johnson
Susan LaSalle
Elise Levine
Anita Occhiuto
Howard Rodstein
Rashid Silvera
