Peruvian delights at Casita Andina

A few years ago I was lucky enough to cook on stage with Peruvian chef Martin Morales. The dishes he made were a revelation of bright flavours, a clean and unusual palate of sensations that I loved. I have never made it to his flagship restaurant Ceviche but I did, prompted by a press feature, head into Soho to try his new venture Casita Andina. I was with my old scoffer Mrs C and we were hungry and happy to be led through the menu by the very charming staff. I love letting someone else choose and on this occasion, with scant knowledge of Peru’s culinary arts it was the right choice.
So first out came some cancha corn nuts. I was scared of them, having cracked teeth on similar things in Spain, but these turned out to be a tasty and dentally manageable snack that did not rely on salt to make it interesting, something that popcorn fails to do.
The dishes are served to share and although bigger than your average tapas, they are by no means main courses. That’s good because we got to taste lots of exciting things.

The first to arrive was croquetas, a hefty mix of very soft pork and liver bathed in a puddle of sweet chilli jam that I am sure was made with strawberries. They were simply delicious and a portion of four was generous.
Sangrecita came next and the clue is in the name, yes Peruvian black pudding. Surprisingly it was not sausage shaped but came as a creamy puree topped with fried chilli and quinoa toast to mop it up. Mop it up we did, it was rich and comforting stuff. And quinoa toast, delicious!
Of course we had to have Morales’ classic ceviche, sea bass cured in what he calls tiger’s milk, a sharp blend of chilli, lime and much more. It was perfect and very generously packed with fat chunks of market fresh fish.

The watermelon and quinoa salad converted me to the Q word. Morales makes it work in a way that is so exciting. The combination of fresh, sweet melon, nutty grains and a soft curd cheese with almond and lemon dressing danced on the tongue.
In contrast the cauliflower dish was soft and comforting, sweet potato puree, broad beans onions and tomatoes with the main ingredient dressed with panca chilli. If it sounds like a lot of chilli, trust me when I say that the hot fiends are used judiciously for flavour and not for fire.
Our final choice was sweetbreads. I love them and always choose them when they are offered. These were creamy and full of flavour, the coriander and dark beer sauce was a revelation and the accompanying carpulcra potatoes with peanuts added a soft and sweet foil to the rich and intense offal.
I had one beer, it was enough and we had no room for a pud, despite the protestations of our waiter. The food comes fast but not too fast at Casita Andina and it is sensibly priced. The ground floor room and bar seating is available on a first come basis too and it is open from 11am to midnight weekdays and 10am to midnight at the weekend. They also do takeaway and I’m thinking post-theatre train snack! I cannot wait for an excuse to go back very soon.

31 Great Windmill Street, Soho, London W1D 7LP
casita@andinalondon.com
020 3327 9464