People eat “kala asada”, the head of roasted lamb, a traditional dish from Oruro, in this city of Bolivia on February 18, 2023. / AFP.
In the middle of the street, a vendor removes a charred lamb’s head from its bag and rips off the skin, wool and eyelids to keep it from getting burned before serving it on a plate. In the chilly Bolivian Altiplano, roasted face will delight late-night palates and cure a hangover.
As a child, Doris Cuba never wanted to take over the family business, but now, at 48, she has no regrets. Raised by her grandmother, who taught her trade, for decades she has scrubbed her teeth and wool, salted and baked her lamb skulls.
At night, he and his sister, Claudia Arizpe, sell this delicacy of tender flesh and unpleasant appearance in a corner of Oruro, in western Bolivia.
“We are granddaughters following the tradition. I remember my grandmother selling[the burnt face]wrapped in newspaper with wool and stuff,” says Cuban, whose name is Rostro Asado Doña. I reminisce while counting the bills in front of the stall. Chavelita in honor of grandmother
At the time, the client was also responsible for splitting the skull in half to access the internal organs, and did so by banging it against a “wall.” Change habits to expand.
On a cold night in the Altiplano, more than 3,700 meters above sea level, with average midsummer temperatures ranging from a low of 6°C to a high of 19°C, dozens of people line up in front of steam-filled white bags. Head hot. The kiosks’ main customers are late nights, drunks and curious visitors.
Open Friday to Sunday from 5pm to 6am, it’s one of the few places in the city where this dish of unknown origin is sold, including Norwegian and South African cuisine .
AFP.
“butter”
Wearing a blue apron and soot-covered hands, Arizpe is in charge of prying open the skull with a metal bar and splitting it in half.
Sitting at tables on the premises, diners nibble meat off the bone. Served with bread and chilli, with little cutlery.
Pricking the eyeball with a fork causes a small explosion, and black liquid erupts from the pupil. The texture and flavor of the eye are similar to gizzards.
“I’m very impressed. It’s a sheep’s head. I tried it,” says 25-year-old student Ángel Pacheco after tasting the dish for the first time.
All head meat is edible. Internal organs are also used. “It’s like butter,” says Arizpe, 40, of her brain’s creamy consistency. The tongue called “dessert” is the most coveted.
Couples often share a portion, while others choose to devour the entire head.
“There’s very little meat, but it’s actually very exquisite,” says Iván Niñode Guzmán, a 46-year-old employee in the telecommunications sector and a regular consumer of Roastface, on the importance of eating quickly. Emphasizes.Before it gets cold.
grandma’s secret
Occasionally, the car arrives fresh from the wood-fired oven for seven to eight hours. On holidays such as the Oruro Carnival, Cuba guarantees he sells up to 200 in one night.
At about $7 a plate, the turnover is about $1,400 a night, but the minimum wage is just over $300 a month.
But in addition to Cuba, her sister, children and nephew, and two other family members who participate in the rigorous process of cleaning, cooking, and transporting, participate in the booty.
The sisters refuse to show how the lamb’s head is prepared.
“The trick is that it’s soft and lamb” or baby Cuba, whose daughters are already fighting to preserve the future of their family legacy…) so they know they’re going to lose the tradition. not.
Young women worry about maintaining the habits of the past, but never face the present. Rostro Asado Doña Chavelita has a presence on Facebook and TikTok thanks to them.
Source: Diario.Elmundo
