Well, here is our last food post of the trip….and what a way to finish up! The food in Peru was both interesting and delicious.
We honestly didn’t find the time to do any official cooking lessons while there, but we did have the opportunity to try lots of different traditional dishes as well as observe how to prepare some neat eats!
We saw numerous llamas and alpacas roaming around Peru, so it wasn’t surprising to see them on the menus. Although we rarely ate at restaurants….one night we went to this fabulous place called Cicciolina – the food was amazing! The girls ordered alpaca steaks and we all found them to be delicious, while also very lean and tender. It would be neat to see if we can find it in Canada although I’m not sure how to cook it.
While at a local market in Cusco, we had the chance to try some fresh tamales. Basically, tamales are a snack of corn based dough with different types of fillings (like a taco or burrito), then wrapped up in corn husks. There were two types we tried – savoury with olives & chicken, and sweet with corn, nuts &sugar. The ladies steamed them up in pots and served them fresh….they were about 40 cents each.
While in Chinchero learning about weaving, we had a lovely lunch made by the family we were visiting. We were lucky to try some delicious soups with of course – potatoes – but we also were able to try homemade tortillas! They were the most popular food of the luncheon so we asked to watch our cook make them. They are made out of corn flour, milk, eggs and oil. He also adds some local herbs and then fries them up into thick and fluffy pancake like discs. They are not like the “flat wraps” we know in North America. The tortillas are about 10mm in thickness and are eaten with a meal.
A very popular dish in Peru is “Ceviche” which is marinated fish with garnishes. We were able to observe a chef at a restaurant prepare the dish from start to finish…it only took about 15 minutes.
The first thing is to chop up the fish – which is usually trout or another mild white fish and then pour a citric marinade overtop of it. While waiting for the marinade to work its magic, the cook garnished the rest of the plate with mote, (traditional large corn) chopped onions, sliced potatoes, lettuce and much more.
For those who have already visited Peru, they would know, and would have probably tried, one of the most popular drinks which is the Piscou sour – a vodka like drink that has lime juice added to it. We enjoyed the drink with the people on our trek to Machu Picchu – a celebration indeed! Of course the kids could not try the Piscou – so they enjoyed their favourite….Inca Kola – which is basically yellow cream soda – but it looks really cool in the bottle.
One day, at San Cristobal Church, there was a large festival celebrating the conversion of an Incan emperor to Christianity as well as the patron saints. It reminded me a lot of the Greek festivals at home. The atmosphere was loud and lots of fun as people enjoyed good food and company.
A traditional dish served at these types of celebrations is called, “Chiriuchu” or “cold plate”. It holds a variety of meats, cheese and other delicious tidbits that can be eaten by hand and by many. The people who prepared our plate were very kind and explained what was on it.
The plate has cold meats on the bottom layer, local cheeses, omelette, seaweed with fish eggs on top and peppers. We were able to share it with our whole group and try the different tastes. It was really good.
And yes….part of the platter was made up of guinea pig, better known as “cuy”.
We all ate it because, when in Peru at a festival – eat guinea pig!
Trust us, it was much tastier than the tarantulas we ate in Cambodia!
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