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6 YEARS AGO I bought a cookbook so gorgeous it could easily reside on a coffee table. The Art of Peruvian Cooking is full of rainbow-hued causas (layered potato salads), recipes for ceviche and tiradito (citrus-cured raw seafood dishes) and a compelling photo of a whole fried fish that looked like it had been dredged up from the bottom of the Amazon. The cuisine seemed as exotic and unapproachable as a foreign movie star.
Finally Peruvian food is having its close-up. Lima was recently named one of the top food cities in the world by Bon Appétit magazine, and more than 600 cooking schools have bubbled up around a country where each region now takes fresh pride in its native foods. Add the fact that rock-star Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio (proprietor of 16 South American restaurants) has opened La Mar in San Francisco, and Cusco restaurant Limó is considering a Vancouver opening, and Peruvian food in the West finally seems to be ascending.
Yet my first fine-dining experience in Lima left me wondering how it could possibly be replicated at home. At Malabar, a cozy boîte in the tony Miraflores quarter, almost every ingredient was unfamiliar, even the cocktail snacks of macabo (big, nutty-buttery kernels), Sacha Inchi (Incan peanuts) and patacón (mashed plantain crisps). From main dishes of paiche (a rich Amazonian white fish) in spicy chorizo broth to crayfish in a sauce popping with river algae bubbles, the food was a whirlwind tour of the Andes and the Amazon, an area that boasts the highest biodiversity on the planet. By the end of it my palate was exhausted-it’s deeply unfashionable, you see, to start your leisurely dining experience any earlier than 9 p.m.
At Malabar I also discovered my new favourite food, lúcuma, the love child of avocado and pumpkin, one of dozens of fruits and vegetables I had never seen before. Peru has thousands of varieties of its native tuber, the potato, alone-our gourmet and ethnic grocery stores in the West have a long way to go considering that even rocoto, the mild, black-seeded red and yellow peppers essential to almost every
Peruvian sauce, aren’t easy to find here.
Some of the more typical, everyday Peruvian dishes I tasted at the annual Mistura gastronomic street fair in Lima seemed possible-essential, even-to master. Tacu-tacu (a crispy rice skillet pancake) was like a paella-frittata hybrid, full of squid and shrimp bits and all bound together by a creamy purée formed by long-cooked white beans. It weighed about a pound, and quickly olive-oil-soaked its humble paper plate. I gobbled every bite. Chupe de camarones was a complex shrimp chowder ("simmered for six hours," the cook boasted in Spanish), the adobo (vinegary pork stew) was mouth-puckeringly piquant and the beef, chicken and shrimp empanadas were so flaky and tasty I had one of each. Picarones, fried dough rings served honey-sauced and hot, were the naughty South American cousins to Timbits.
You can trace Peruvian history in the culture of these dishes. Spanish, African and Chinese influences mingle; in fact, the special-occasion dish of cuy (guinea pig) cooked Peking-duck style at Acurio’s ChiCha restaurant (named for a foamy, yeasty purple-corn beer) in Cusco, was, surprisingly, one of my favourite tastes of the entire trip. The longest lineup at the culinary fair was for anticuchos, the much-loved delicacy of marinated, grilled beef-heart skewers. Eating the tender morsels felt a bit like re-enacting an ancient Incan ritual.
The one Peruvian recipe I swore to master was for ceviche, a dish so seminal a whole category of restaurants (cevicherias) exist around it. Chef Fernando Pacheco Sandoval of restaurant Caplina offered to be my culinary guide. He led me around the chef-favourite pescaderia Todo Fresco Abel (a seafood market) pointing out corvina (sea bass), mero (grouper), purple crabs and a super scary-looking conger eel, explaining that the Humboldt Current off the coast of Peru feeds local species with the algae-rich diet that makes them so succulent.
Back at his restaurant, he started with a fat ojo de uva (literally "grape eyes") fillet and described what makes a great ceviche: "Our limón,"-the small, green citrus fruits are more acidic than North American lemons or limes-"and our cooks." As he artfully mixed the sliced fish with five simple components-onion, lime, salt, cilantro, peppers-he explained how the leche de tigre (tiger’s milk) marinade that’s left over is a supposed hangover cure, aphrodisiac and all-round national remedy.
I happily ate the resulting dish, scooping up the fish with crisp tortilla shards, enjoying a true umami moment of sweet, spicy, salty, sour and the undefinable fifth flavour of savouriness. I sipped my pisco sour, munched some giant fried corn kernels and had a lucid moment of realizing how far-reaching but under-recognized are the influences of Peruvian food and drink. It’s now being recognized-along with French, Italian, Chinese and Japanese (and, some would argue, Spanish)-as one of the true "mother" cuisines. Finally, the whole world is having a taste.
Stay
In Lima, the seaside JW Marriott Hotel has North American-style comforts (rooms from $190 U.S.) and the crafts and jewellery for sale across the street in the modern Larcomar shopping centre are of higher quality than what you’ll find elsewhere. Malecón de la Reserva 615, Miraflores, (511) 217-7000, marriott.com.
Most visitors to Machu Picchu stop in the Sacred Valley for a night or two to adjust to the altitude. The best place to do it is the elegant Sol & Luna Lodge-Spa, an enchanted complex of flowering gardens and adobe and wood casitas (from $235 U.S. per night) tucked into the Andes. Yacu Wasi spa offered one of the best massages we’ve ever had and Wayra restaurant serves up everything from rustic (an outdoor pachamanca feast) to elegant (private wine-pairing dinner in the downstairs cellar) cuisine. Fundo Huincho Lote A-5, Urubamba, 51-84-201-620, hotelsolyluna.com.
Machu Picchu pit stop Aguas Calientes is a maze of backpacker lodges and budget hotels. The top stay is the new Sumaq boutique hotel, a family-owned gem with wonderfully personal service, cozy rooms (from $478.50 U.S. a night) and the best location for bus access from town to Machu Picchu. You can take a Gastronomic Experience cooking class here. Avenue Hermanos Ayar Mz 1 Lote 3, Machu Picchu, 866-682-0645, (518) 421 1059, sumaqhotelperu.com.
Eat
Lima has so many great restaurants, it’s hard to know where to start. Consult the locals via the annual South American culinary survey in In, the Spanish-English magazine of LAN airlines. Restaurants Fiesta (Avenue Reducto 1278, Miraflores), Mi Peru (Avenue Lima 816, Barranco) and O Mei (Avenue Javier Prado Este 5902, La Molina) topped its last survey. We also loved Malabar (Avenue Camino Real 101, San Isidro) and Huaca Pucllana (General Borgoño 8, Miraflores), perched next to archeological ruins that are dramatically lit at night.
Outside Lima, great meals await you in Cusco at the informal Cicciolina (Calle Triunfo 393) and Gaston Acurio’s Chicha (Calle Plaza Regocijo 261), or the elegant MAP Cafe (Plaza Nazarenas 231) at the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art.
Play
A quick LAN flight from Lima to Cusco, then a train to Aguas Calientes is the route that most non-hiking visitors take to Machu Pichus (lan .com, perurail.com). The luxe route is the Hiram Bingham train, with gourmet breakfast onboard and lunch at the only ruins-adjacent hotel, the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, included. (Train and hotel packages are also available from machupicchu.orient-express.com.)
Taste the ultimate pisco sour at Huaringas Bar (Calle Bolognesi 460, Miraflores, brujasdecachiche.com.pe)-ask to have yours hand-shaken, not blended, for authenticity.
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RECIPES
Chicken in Yellow Chili Sauce
 3 cups water
2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 bay leaf
2 cups mixed vegetables (carrots, celery and leek), chopped
1 white dinner roll
2 cups milk, divided
5 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp minced garlic
½ cup yellow (mirasol) chili paste
¼ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
¼ cup ground pecans, toasted
½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
4 yellow potatoes, boiled and sliced
12 black olives, pitted, for garnish
2 eggs, hard-boiled, for garnish
Salt and pepper
In a medium saucepan combine water, chicken breasts, bay leaf, mixed vegetables and ½ tsp salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until chicken is cooked through, approximately 15 minutes. Remove chicken breasts from liquid and shred the meat; set aside. Strain the broth, reserving the liquid and discarding the vegetables.
In a small bowl, tear up the bread roll and soak in 1 cup of milk for 10 minutes. In another medium bowl, whisk together canola oil, garlic, yellow chili paste, cumin and turmeric. Heat a medium-size, heavy casserole over medium heat. Fry the yellow chili paste mixture, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of reserved stock, soaked bread and remaining cup of milk. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring frequently, for another 4 minutes. Stir in the shredded chicken, ground pecans and Parmesan cheese and simmer until chicken is warmed through.
Serve hot, ladled over sliced potatoes and garnished with chopped black olives and sliced hard-boiled eggs.
Stir-Fried Beef
5 yellow potatoes, cut in sticks
2 cups + 3 tbsp oil
800 grams tenderloin beef, sliced into thin strips
¼ tsp cumin
3 tbsp pisco
2 onions, cut intothick julienne strips
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 yellow chili,seeds and veins removed, cut into julienne strips
3 tomatoes, seeds removed, cut into thick julienne strips
2 tbsp white vinegar
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chopped coriander
Salt and pepper
Season meat and set aside. Fry the potatoes and drain on kitchen towel. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and seal the seasoned meat over a high heat. Add the cumin and stir-fry until golden. Flambé the meat with the pisco. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Sauté the onions and garlic in 1 tbsp oil. Add the yellow chili and tomatoes, then the beef. Add the vinegar, stir, and add the soy sauce. Sprinkle with coriander and taste, adding salt if necessary. Stir-fry quickly until all ingredients are cooked. Serve with fried potatoes. This dish is also usually accompanied with rice mixed with sweet corn. Makes 4 servings.
Pisco Sour
3 oz pisco
1 oz jarbe de goma syrup or 2 tablespoons sugar
1 oz lemon juice
1/3 egg white
5 ice cubes
Drops of angostura bitters
Put ice cubes in a cold cocktail shaker. Add the pisco, jarabe de goma or sugar, and lemon juice. Shake, then add egg white. Cover and shake again, thoroughly, for 20 seconds. Strain and into a previously chilled glass. Add a few drops of angostura bitters and serve. Makes 1 cocktail.
Cebiche Serves 4
1 1/2 lbs flounder fillets
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 small red (limo) chili
4 ice cubes
20 lemons
4 lettuce leaves
1 cooked corn cob
1 cooked sweet potato
Salt
Cut the fish fillets, on a diagonal to the grain, into cubes no larger than 1 inch. Wash the fish and onion in cold water, changing the water twice. Rub a piece of the limo chili on the bottom of a glass bowl. Add the fish and onion. Add the ice cubes and season. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze each one into the bowl, trying to squeeze out only 3/4 of the juice. Add the sliced chili, mix well, and taste, adding more salt if necessary. Remove the ice cubes. Put the cebiche on a leaf of lettuce, serve with the corn and sweet potato and decorate with slices of limo chili.
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