The Culinary Delights of Peru Written and Photographed by Esmeralda Campos
Ranking as one of the top culinary destinations, the city of
Lima - Peru hosted the international culinary fair ¨Peru Mucho
Gusto¨ last September. The variety of the Peruvian agricultural
produce provides with many unusual ingredients that favour the
preparation of exquisite dishes and drinks making Peru a country
of culinary delights.
The pleasant food tasting that I experienced on my recent visit
to Lima motivated me to create a list of some of the famous Peruvian
dishes and beverages that I would personally recommend to any
gourmand.
Adobo con aji de huevos
A delicacy from the Southern part of Peru. This dish combines
scrambled eggs Peruvian style with marinated pork.
Aji de Gallina
An elaborated chicken stew in a spicy milky yellow sauce served
on a bed of potatoes, decorated with lettuce, boiled eggs and
olives. The Mirasol pepper or yellow hot pepper gives this dish
its unique colour and flavour.
Arroz con pato
The ¨duck and rice¨ is a tasty Peruvian dish traditionally
prepared in the Northern part of the country. A popular version
of this dish - without losing any of its flavour - is the ¨chicken
and rice¨.
Cabrito a la Norteña
Tasty and tender baby goat stew served with yucca, beans and
rice. Typically prepared in Trujillo (Northern Peru) but also
eaten all over the country.
Carapulcra
It is a dried potato stew and pork pieces served with rice. The
dehydrated potato is widely consumed in Peru and purchased in
supermarkets.
Causa Limeña
A cold elaborated dish, it mixes a layer of smashed yellow potatoes
with a layer of shredded chicken with mayo or sea food.
Cau-Cau
The traditional cau-cau combines stewed tripe and potatoes served
with white rice. Other versions of cau-cau replace the tripe for
pieces of chicken, fish or beef.
Ceviche
Raw fish or seafood marinated in lime juice. Typically served
with sweet potatoes, yucca, corn and a hot pepper slice.
Cuy
Guinea pig either stewed, roasted or fried. This typical Peruvian
dish varies in its elaboration and presentation in different parts
of the country.
Lomo Saltado
Marinated steak cut into small strips, sautéd and served
with fries and white rice.
Ocopa
Served as a starter or small dish, it is a green creamy sauce
on a bed of potatoes accompanied with lettuce, olives and boiled
eggs. The green colour is given by the huacatay (flavourful aromatic
herb also called Peruvian black mint).
Olluquito
Olluco stew with pieces of chicken or beef, served with rice
and garnished with chopped parsley. The olluco is an Andean tuber
that constitutes one of the food bases in the Andes and in many
cases substitutes the potato.
Pachamanca
Pachamanca is a traditional Peruvian dish based on underground
baking with the aid of hot stones of three choices of meat and
four Andean produce. The dish combines lamb, pork, chicken, or
beef marinated in spices from the night before the baking; the
potatoes, sweet potatoes, green lima beans, and corn have a unique
taste, and the sweet tamale wrapped in plantain or corn leaves
completes the dish.
Papa a la Huancaina
Served as a starter, it is a yellow hot pepper creamy sauce on
a bed of potatoes accompanied with lettuce, olives and boiled
eggs. The yellow hot pepper also called Mirasol pepper gives this
dish its unique flavour.
Rocoto Relleno
Peruvian hot peppers stuffed with ground beef sautéd in
spices and baked with a top of cheese.
Shambar
A tasty soup eaten on special occasions. It mixes many Andean
and Spanish ingredients (wheat grains, green beans, dry beans,
chickpeas, pork skin, and spices). The soup has a peculiar texture
given by the grains and beans, and an unusual flavour that makes
it worth to taste.
Drinks
Pisco Sour
A cocktail that mixes Pisco brandy, lime juice, egg white, syrup
and Angostura bitter.
Algarrobina cocktail
A cocktail that mixes Pisco brandy, algarrobina syrup, milk and
Angostura bitter. Algarrobina is a syrup extracted from the Algarrobo
and very much used in the Peruvian cuisine
Chicha de jora
An elaborated traditional alcoholic beverage made of fermented
jora (germinating maize).
Chicha morada
A drink made of boiled purple corn mixed with fruit juices and
spiced with cinnamon. This variety of purple corn is only found
in the Peruvian Andes.
Esmeralda
Campos was born in Lima - Peru and has traveled extensively
most of the Peruvian territory. She is not a writer, but wants
to bring awareness about the richness of the Peruvian land.
She has lived on three continents and presently resides in
Toronto.
