In Perú there’s no such thing as Christmas in July. Instead, we eat and drink all the wintery Christmas stuff in the middle of summer. The large Christmas eve dinner of roasted turkey (or suckling pig), applesauce and/or mash, Russian salad, rice, etc. is followed by hot chocolate and panettone. Peruvian hot chocolate is made…Continue reading Recipe: Peruvian hot chocolate
Category: Peruvian food
Recipe: Menestrón (Peruvian minestrone)
Menestrón is the Peruvian version of minestrone soup, brought to the country by Italian migrants. What makes this soup Peruvian is the addition of native ingredients, such as potato and cassava. This is a pesto-based version of minestrone (as opposed to tomato-based). In addition to the traditional basil and Parmesan, this pesto features spinach and…Continue reading Recipe: Menestrón (Peruvian minestrone)
Recipe: Easy pulpo al olivo
Pulpo al olivo is a typical Peruvian dish made with octopus and olive mayonnaise. It is often eaten as an entrée or appetizer. This recipe is called easy pulpo al olivo because I’ve included a couple of shortcuts. The invention of this dish is attributed to Peruvian-Japanese chef Rosita Yimura. My lazy version involves no…Continue reading Recipe: Easy pulpo al olivo
Recipe: My mum’s arroz chaufa (Peruvian fried rice)
Chaufa comes from chao fan, which apparently means “fried rice” in Chinese (not sure if in Mandarin, Cantonese or both). So yeah, arroz chaufa = “fried rice rice”. Arroz chaufa in Perú is very popular (as we have a large Cantonese community) and it comes in many varieties: chicken, pork, chicken + pork, chicken +…Continue reading Recipe: My mum’s arroz chaufa (Peruvian fried rice)
Recipe: Low sugar pisco sour
Today is pisco sour day. The Peruvian national cocktail is celebrated on the first Saturday in February every year since 2005. I published my standard recipe a couple of years ago. I mentioned in passing that you could use water and stevia instead of syrup but did not give any quantities. This year I decided…Continue reading Recipe: Low sugar pisco sour
Recipe: Causa de atún (tuna causa)
Causa de atún is one of my favourite variations of causa limeña, a traditional Peruvian entrée. Causa is a cold potato-based dish, made with mashed potatoes that are flavoured with lime and chilli, then used to sandwich the filling. Traditional filling is made with shredded chicken and mayonnaise, but versions with fish and seafood are…Continue reading Recipe: Causa de atún (tuna causa)
What is lucuma (and how to pronounce it)
Lucuma (written lúcuma in Spanish) is an Andean fruit that grows in Peru, Ecuador and Chile. It has been around since before the Incas and it’s still widely consumed in the region. Listen to the correct pronunciation in this link. Lucuma is generally the size of an orange or grapefruit, although there are also smaller…Continue reading What is lucuma (and how to pronounce it)
Recipe: Pisco sour
This year I decided to put the last bottle of pisco I had in my cupboard to good use and made a round of pisco sour to celebrate with friends. Generally speaking, there are three types of pisco: quebranta (the least aromatic), mosto verde or Italia (the most aromatic) and acholado (a mix of both).…Continue reading Recipe: Pisco sour
Recipe: Lupin a la peruana (Peruvian-style lupin)
I get sudden cravings for Peruvian food once in a while. One day I was fixated on pepián, a corn purée spiced with our traditional aderezo of onion, garlic and chilli. Then I remembered I had a bag of lupin flakes in my cupboard and decided to use it as the main ingredient, partially because…Continue reading Recipe: Lupin a la peruana (Peruvian-style lupin)
Recipe: Locro (Peruvian pumpkin stew)
I’m sure there are a million locro recipes out there because it’s fair to say this is an everyday staple in almost every Peruvian household. The way I make it is not the way my mum makes it, nor the way my aunties make it, nor the way my mother-in-law makes it. This is one…Continue reading Recipe: Locro (Peruvian pumpkin stew)