A new documentry titled De Ollas y Sueños, or Cooking Up Dreams, is playing in Lima this week. The film covers the rise of Peruvian cuisine, and features scenes with famous chefs such as Gaston Acurio. In an article for Living in Peru, Nathan Paluck writes, “It’s 75 minutes of people profiles, swirling saucepans and hundred-years-old cooking methods.” The national cuisine is as much a part of Peruvian culture as the language and the landscape, and this film shows viewers how Peruvian food is now impacting the world. As Paluck says, it is safe to say Peruvian food has arrived.
From the category archives:
Peruvian food
You’ll undoubtedly want to visit Machu Picchu on a trip to Peru, but now you can add another stop to your sightseeing list. The Mariott Hotel in Miraflores will be featuring an exact miniature replica of The Lost City in their lobby – made entirely of chocolate. Peruvians are proud of their national cuisine, and take both cooking and eating seriously. The chefs at The Mariott decided to celebrate one of Peru’s greatest sights this holiday season, while pushing themselves to be both creative and precise. The chocolate Machu Picchu will be on display through January 5, 2010. For a photo, visit Living in Peru. One can’t help but wonder who will get to eat this 353 pound masterpiece when the exhibit is over.
Peru is already in the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Diverse Cuisine, but the city of Huancayo, where the dish was created, hosted an event on Sunday to break the record for the world’s largest serving of Papa a la Huancaina. This dish is one of the most popular on Peruvian menus around the world, with boiled potatoes smothered in a creamy sauce made with Peruvian yellow hot pepper and cheese. 12,000 plates of these Peruvian potatoes were served on a very long table installed on a city street in Huancayo. In 2008, 8,000 servings were made, so the record was broken. The event organizer, Ruben Cardenas, was quoted as saying, ”Our goal is to further promote Papa a la Huancaina as one of the Peruvian cuisine‘s main dishes.”
Peruvians take great pride in their national cuisine, and there are many gourmet restaurants to choose from in Lima. One style of food to try in Lima is Peruvian style Chinese food, or Chifa. Peruvians use the word Chifa to refer to Chinese food and Chinese restaurants. This fusion cuisine was developed in the 19th century, when many Chinese immigrants entered Peru and began to incorporate South American ingredients and techniques into their cooking styles. Dishes like Chaufa de Pollo and Chaufa de Carne are examples of this Peruvian style fried rice, created by Chinese Peruvians.
If you’ve got a craving for a sweet treat while visiting Lima, you have to visit Manolo’s. This restaurant offers a wide range of choices, but their delicious desserts really stand out. My family and I love their churros, which are fantastic with a steaming cup of rich hot chocolate. If you’re in the mood for something cold, order ice cream from Manolo’s – it comes in a special glass with sparklers. There are so many fantastic restaurants in Lima, but Manolo’s is the perfect choice for a special treat.
Another comfort food from Peru is the Peruvian doughnut. Made with a mixture of wheat, sweet potato and Peruvian pumpkin flours, as well as cinnamon and anise, these treats are fried in oil and are then topped with a special syrup. My daughter Ashley fondly remembers the Picarones that Alberto’s mother made for us, and how the smell of sugar, syrup and flour would fill the house while she anticipated these traditional Peruvian treats. You’ll find Picarones on the menu at many restaurants throughout Peru, and now you can easily make your own Picarones with a mix sold in the US. But of course, the best ones are made from scratch!
Tallarines are Peruvian noodles with a distinctive seasoning.
Legendary Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio is looking to expand his Peruvian restaurants to New York City soon. This is an exciting update in the world of fine Peruvian food. Acurio says Peruvian cuisine will put Peru on the map, and I agree. When people across the globe taste delicious dishes like ceviche, more of them will take an interest in the beautiful country of Peru. Peru’s gastronomy is a very interesting topic, because the national cuisine was formed by so many different influences. With South American, African, Asian and European influences, it is easy to see why Peruvian food is acknowledged as the most diverse cuisine in the world.
Potatoes are a vital crop in Peru, and are used to make many Peruvian dishes, including Papa a la Huancaina, above.
CNN.com reported on Peru this week, saying, “When the chips are down, the world may one day owe a debt of gratitude to a group of potato farmers high up in the mountains of Peru.” Why? Because of Peruvian potatoes. As agriculture has become more commercialized in the past century, the practice of farmers saving their seeds and therefore preserving a large variety of crops has decreased tremendously. As a result, over 90 percent of the tree, vegetable and fruit varieties found in America in the beginning of the 20th century are now gone. The same phenomenon has occurred in many countries around the world, meaning that we are all depending on a few select varieties of vital crops such as corn, beans, wheat, and potatoes. This increases the chances of food crises in the future, due to pests, population growth, and climate change. To combat these scary statistics, scientists are now working to preserve diverse crops as part of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. First, they created a seed bank in Norway, which now contains 1.1 million seed varieties. Now they are focusing on the crops that cannot be preserved in that way. Therefore, a fund has been established to pay farmers in 11 communities, including the Quechua community in Peru, so they can focus on preserving diverse crops on their farms. The impressive array of potatoes that grow in Peru may one day prevent another Potato Famine. We recently reported that Peruvian potatoes are going to space, and now they may save the planet.
Peru made international headlines this week when Russian astronauts announced they have agreed to carry out an experiment to see if Peruvian potatoes can be grown in space. The astronauts will take the potatoes with them on as they travel to the International Space Station in preparation for a future trip to Mars. The Mars expedition will take approximately three years. With a trip that long, the astronauts will need a hearty diet. Therefore, they have decided to test Peruvian potatoes, to determine if they can be grown in a zero gravity environment. Potatoes were first cultivated in the Andes, and over 2,000 varieties are found in Peru today. Even if potatoes cannot survive at the International Space Station, they can be dehydrated with a technique that is currently used in the Andes, and rehydrated later by the astronauts. Peruvian potatoes are already a food staple around the world – hopefully they will make their mark on the galaxy now!
Shrimp Ceviche, photo courtesy of Cindy Mulligan
Peruvians have always taken great pride in their national cuisine, and its popularity is growing around the globe. Epicurious.com called Peruvian cuisine “the new Thai” while listing trends for 2009, and Bon Appetit Magazine picked Lima, Peru its number one food destination this year. Dishes like Lomo Saltado and Ceviche are certainly creating a stir world wide, and recent articles mention Peruvian restaurants popping from Amsterdam to San Francisco. The winners of a recent contest called The Seven Gastronomic Wonders of Peru were announced yesterday. After eight months of online voting, Ceviche came in first place, with Lomo saltado, Aji de gallina, Anticuchos, Chupe de Camarones, Papa a la Huancaina, and Causa also making the list. Each time I visit Peru, I look forward to the fantastic food. You don’t have to take a flight to enjoy these dishes, however, just head to your local Peruvian restaurant!
