Las Comidas de Peru

After returning from the land of carbs, we were ready to try some authentic Andean cuisine. We’d had one good meal in Lima but were ready to expand from our potato and rice and bread diet. 



Our first opportunity was at a buffet on the way back from the trek. I’m not sure how they make a profit since offering up an all you can eat buffet to a bunch of 5,000 calorie a day trekkers can’t be a winning business. The food was surprisingly good. We had Carlos, our resident Peruvian from Lima, explain to us what each dish was. Peru is big on their soups, some of which are clear broth with vegetables and some kind of pasta or quinoa (an ancient grain now becoming quite popular in the States). There also cream soups, including tomatoe, spinach or asparagus. There was also a stuffed pepper that set mouths afire, and custard and “jelly” (what we Ameri-cuns know as Jell-O) for dessert.

The next day though was a real treat as Garin had signed us up for a cooking class to celebrate Hal’s 16th birthday and enjoy some good grub. The class was actually taught in the courtyard of our hotel, so at 11 a.m. we gathered around an outdoor covered kitchen with our chef Milagro and various other folks from Canada, London and Australia. Immediately she put us to work chopping burn-your-eyes from the vapor peppers, onions and tomatoes. Another group started chopping carrots, peas and potatoes. We all had jobs to do as she explained why we had to taste the cheese to determine how much salt was in it before adding more salt; or why the peppers, once gutted and topped off, had to be boiled three different times to help alleviate the spicy factor.

Over a couple hours we helped create a beautiful and delicious meal of stuffed hot peppers, a rainbow-colored vegetable and cheese salad tossed with lime, oil and vinegar, and a layered potato, milk and cheese casserole sprinkled with anis seeds. We washed it down with cold cerveza and more of the purple corn drink, chichi morado. The meal was peppered with tales of Peru and the history of the hotel from the hotel owner who joined us for lunch (no, he did not help make it). He was very excited that we had a good time though and even arranged the food for photos before allowing us to dig in.

Bon Appetit!

Footnote: After our feast and a trip to see the "ice princess" (a young Inca girl who was sacrificed 500 years ago on a mountain), we indulged in ice cream -- even a cheese flavor. Then for Hal’s bday dinner we went to a creperia. There were more types of crepes than you can imagine, including alpaca, which Court had taken a liking to for its tenderness. We waddled home in the dark after a little souvenir shopping and fell into bed ready for our next adventure to Lake Titicaca.