Ode to Peruvian cuisine

Last night my roommates and I went into the Parque Excursion to stuff ourselves with absolutely delicious Peruvian fare at the Mistura food festival. Just getting in to event was difficult as we did not buy our entry tickets ahead of time. After we succeeded in entering, the problem was deciding what to eat because there were so many options.

While my friends were munching down on empanadas, I was scoping out the scene and decided to try a tacu tacu. Its appearance was of a soft, almost sponge-like roll covered in green sauce with a sprinkling of fried chicken on the top. The chicken provided a great salty crunch on top of the savory tacu tacu and the sweet salsa on top. It was so good that I ate the entire thing before remembering that I wanted to take a picture of it. After the fact, I discovered that the base ingredient is beans and rice and it is fusion African-Peruvian dish. However, there is a ton of variety on how to prepare it and it can come with any variety of toppings.

Well, I was playing catch up to the other girls who already had consumed two dishes, so I followed them on to dessert- Toblerone cheesecake. Best invention ever. The servings were small (from an American frame of reference), but it was incredibly rich. The "cheese" part of it was barely noticeable and the texture was much thicker than traditional cheesecake.


Unfortunately, the evening took a little downward turn when the friend of my roommate was robbed of her wallet and passport while she was waiting in line. She left to report the incident, but the rest of us remained for several more hours, carefully watching our belongings.


My final dish was actually quite the steal. I was talking with the cashier, trying to find out the ingredients of the different dishes offered, and he immediately asked what my home country was. Apparently he had spent several years in Texas and loves the United States. Thus, when he discovered that I only had half the money required for the food he took it quickly and put the order through. For once, the "gringa" price was a good thing! It was a chicken, rice and beans meal: incredibly filling, with a nice spicy kick.

On a final gastronomic note, I've included a picture of the delicious coconut balls that are sold at the bodega (a corner store) next to our apartment building. These will be the reason I gain weight in Peru. They have a cake-y center, connected with a caramel filling, and coated in a baked coconut mixture. Que rico!