Perico is a traditional dish in Venezuela and Colombia made of scrambled eggs with diced onions, tomatoes, and green peppers. It is often served with arepas and can be eaten as a full meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The eggs are cooked slowly over low heat and can be mixed with raw or cooked ingredients such as chilies or cheese.
Perico is a dish served in Venezuela and Colombia that is essentially scrambled eggs with some extra ingredients added. Most perico recipes call for the addition of diced onions, tomatoes, and green peppers. In Colombia, eggs are usually served alongside meats such as bacon, while in Venezuela, they are served with a traditional type of small muffin-like bread known as an arepa. While the dish can be made quickly, most preparations call for the eggs to be cooked very slowly over low heat.
A full meal can be prepared from the perico and is often eaten as a breakfast food. Combining eggs, veggies, and side dishes involving carbs or meats can make it very substantial. Because of this, the dish can be eaten as a lunch or dinner or even made into a sandwich when placed between two arepas.
One of the key elements in the traditional preparation of perico is the way the eggs are cooked. Most recipes call for the eggs to be heated slowly over low heat, which can help cook and develop the flavors of the added onions, tomatoes, and peppers, if they aren’t cooked first. Two keys to successfully preparing perico without overcooking the eggs are keeping the heat low and paying attention to the pan at all times.
The eggs should be placed in a pan, usually containing melted butter, after they have been scrambled into a bowl. With constant stirring or whisking over low heat, the small portions of the egg mixture that have solidified in the bottom of the pan will rise to the surface, developing the chunks that eventually form scrambled eggs. Another method of cooking perico is to draw a spatula or other flat implement across the bottom of the pan as the egg cooks, forming long sheets of roe. This can help keep the egg moist while providing a solid structure that can help it sit firmly on an arepas.
The additional ingredients that are mixed into the egg can be added raw or cooked in advance. This is usually done to develop the flavors of the onions and green peppers and to draw out the water from the tomatoes to avoid thinning the roe. Some less traditional additions include chilies or cheeses like feta. The finished dish can be seasoned with green onions or cilantro for a lighter taste.
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