As soon as we got to Peru, we stopped making our own food (joiiieee), and the markets became our favorite playground. A dish generally costs no more than €1, so it’s hard to do for less, even if you cook for yourself. A little reluctant at first – the guidebooks recommend it for strong stomachs – it quickly became our canteen. We’ve always eaten very well and never been sick! (fingers crossed..)
– Rocoto Relleno: peppers stuffed with meat and vegetables, usually served with a potato gratin (a specialty of Arequipa, a city in the south of the country).
– Lomo saltado: French fries + rice topped with sautéed beef and onions
– Aroz chaufa: rice sautéed with vegetables
– Aroz à la cubana: rice, French fries, fried bananas and egg
– Millanesa: breaded chicken cutlet
As for sweets, we stopped off a lot in the panaderia to try and taste everything. The churros and doughnuts filled with Dulce (their milk jam) were tried and tested! The cheese ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon, not Roquefort flavor, plus a kind of yogurt ice cream, from the Arequipa market was our favorite.
And what else do we drink?
– the fruit juices at the market are just excellent, and the quantities are gigantic (the equivalent of a second meal) for 1€ the saleswoman served us the equivalent of 4 large glasses. We’ve never gone without!
– Chicha morada: the national drink made from purple corn, it’s good but nothing more. We didn’t always like everything…
– Pisco sour: another national drink, this time alcoholic, made with lemon juice, egg white and Pisco. We really liked this one.
– the beers are all very, very light, the Cusqueña, which isn’t too bad, seems to be the most popular.
We also indulged in some really nice restaurants, “Ratatouille” French cuisine & “La petite française” crêperie in Arequipa, then “Bo’m” crêperie & “Green Point” vegetarian in Cuzco.
