Comidas de Perú

Introduction:

       During our time in Cusco, we tried most (if not all) of the traditional foods going. In the streets, there are many hundreds of small shops selling three course meals for 60p, including soup (of course), and a chicken and rice dishes. Being cooked for in the house was also a bit of a treat, but we still mucked in with the washing up…

          Unfortunately, the soup eventually got to us and we started cooking our own meals in the house. We still attempted to stick to the traditional cooking, but not being Peruvian ourselves, that proved difficult.

The Staples:

   The one funny thing that we found with Peruvian food is that every meal contained three carbohydrates - potatoes, pasta and rice. Continually.

          We would start by being served a large bowl of soup, with every vegetable you could imagine, and a fair amount of pasta added as well. Then, on to the table would come a plate of plain rice, some more veggies and a few potatoes. That’s it. Nothing more.

The Markets:

          The food markets of Cusco really were some of those special things that have to be seen to be believed. Thousands upon thousands of stalls all lined up, each different isle selling different. When you entered through the main door, you would find yourself looking down a 30-yard row all selling fruits. Then one next to it only sold corn and maize, and the next with just hundreds of bags of different nuts.

          The quail-egg craze was another thing entirely in Cusco. Some stalls stocked giant trays of literally hundreds of thousands of tiny quail eggs, all piled up. Then underneath the trays were huge cages stuffed full of live quails ready for the taking.

          But things got really interesting when you arrived in the meat section…   Huge cow heads hung from the ceiling, staring down at you; pig heads stacked up on the counter; whole, skinned lambs in a mound on a tarpaulin. Behind the counter would be a small pen full of live chickens, just waiting to be killed, soaked and plucked at your asking (we didn’t go for the live chickens, in case you were wondering). 

Traditional Meals:

          All over Peru, there are many different traditional foods: some from Spanish recipes, some from old Peruvian ways and lots from the Incan empire.

          The best one going was ‘Chicharrones’ a brilliant meal with a huge amount of deep fried pork, a pile of raw maize and either rice or vegetables. A few restaurants in Cusco sold Chicharrones, but in a town 10 minutes drive from Cusco, every doorway sold Chicharrones for next to nothing.

          Another very good one was ‘Cevichi’, a meal of raw fish (often trout) drenched in fresh lemon juice with masses of salad and the odd prawn thrown in too. Only I got round to trying this one, but the others weren’t quite so keen on eating raw fish…

          Another one wasn’t quite a meal, but more of the main piece of the meal. It was a large pepper was stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, olives, vegetables and much more…

          By far the most famous Peruvian food is of course Cuy (Guinea Pig). We only ever tried this once, with the family, and weren’t crazy about it. Basically, it just tasted of meat and it was ridiculously salty. So much for the most famous Peruvian food…

Jack