Happy weekend everyone! If you happen to be somewhere where the weather will be nice, it would be a great idea to have a picnic with friends, don’t you think? There are very few things in the world that I like more than having picnics. Sitting on the grass, under the sun or the shade of a tree seems to be extremely therapeutic for me. When in Lima, I love to go on Saturday mornings to practice yoga in my favorite park (Reducto), which is right next to the organic farmer’s market. After class, I usually bring a book, buy my groceries, and have a picnic by myself, or when I’m lucky, a friend or 2 are willing to wake up early and come along for a weekly dose of nature. 

When in New York, I have picnics as often as the weather allows (it doesn’t rain in Lima, but in the Big Apple it’s a completely different story). I have discovered many beautiful, small and quiet parks in my neighborhood, which I like to call my “secret gardens”. A few weeks ago, I had one of my usual fresh air and bare feet rendez-vous, and decided to make one of my favorite Peruvian sandwiches for the occasion: pan con aceituna (bread with olives). I got the inspiration browsing through Gaston Acurio’s “La Cocina de la Calle” (Street Food) book, which has a recipe for this classic sandwich, but grilled and with aji amarillo. I’ve always eaten it cold and aji-less, but of course, one can change it as desired (why not add some arugula, for example?)

When I was in highschool I used to hate olives, and gagged at the view of my best friend’s lunchbox which usually contained these olive sandwiches. It seemed to me like her mother was a very mean woman trying to torture her daughter. Strangely, my friend seemed unaffected by it, and ate it quietly. As a grown up, and with my acquired taste for our very tart botija olives, this sandwich has become a delight to eat. If you’re also an olive lover, I recommend you try it. Just get some French or Ciabatta bread, cut some botija olives (the large, purple, fleshy ones, like in the picture) in half, add a few slices of queso fresco, and your picnic is set. Take your shoes off, sit on the grass, and enjoy this simple and delicious snack!

Vegetable tarts, pies and gratins are an easy way to get those 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, without having to go out of your way. Without even knowing it, Peruvians got it right when they started introducing lots of these savory pastry recipes into their diet. Dishes such as pastel de acelga, pastel de alcachofa (the artichoke version of pastel de acelga), vegetable flans and empanadas, and timbal de espinacas -the recipe I’m sharing today-, are a very common snack or appetizer, enjoyed both when eating out and when preparing food at home.

The good thing about these veggie tarts, other than being cheap and easy to make, lasting for several days in the fridge, and tasting delicious, is that they are a kind of veggie in disguise, similar to what I said about the coliflor arrebozada. Latin Americans have found wise ways to make eating vegetables fun and tasty, so that people learn to eat them and love them from a very early age. I remember loving this type of food since I was a kid, eating it at room temperature out of my lunchbox at school. I wasn’t the only one; everyone around me seemed to enjoy these salty treats as much as I did. This probably had to do with the eggs, cheese, milk, and crumbly crusts that were usually a part of the preparation, which gave them a completely different appearance, taste, and feeling, than the depressing act that eating a cold and crunchy salad represents for kids.

You can make this crustless spinach tart with any fresh, frozen, or even stale bread, making good use of food that you are ready to discard. And if you cut it in small squares, it is also a perfect bite to serve as an hors d’oeuvre at your next dinner or cocktail party. There is no doubt that everyone’s tastebuds (and bodies) will be pleased with the delicious dose of greens.

Empanadas are  savory or sweet turnovers, that enclose a variety of delicious fillings, and are very popular through Latin America. They come in different sizes, and depending on the dough, they are either baked or fried. The baked varieties are eaten warm, and need to rest for a few minutes after being taken out of the oven (they reheat beautifully). The fried ones are fragile and crispy, and should be eaten as soon as they are done to enjoy them at their best, (their crunchy crust turns soggy within minutes).

Most people may prefer to buy their empanadas ready to eat, but for me, part of the fun of eating them is in the preparation. The most important thing is to find a good pastry or empanada dough recipe, and luckily there are quite a few to choose from. If there is a recipe you have already tried and works for you, by all means, use it. You can also get frozen pastry dough, or puff-pastry, which are easily available and both of them wonderful for empanada-making.

Stuffings are as varied and complex as your creativity allows, and leftovers make fabulous empanada fillings too. To show you my point, these empanadas are made with leftover aji de gallina, the ultra popular Peruvian chicken stew with aji amarillo, bread, pecans, and Parmesan cheese sauce. This entree has the perfect creaminess to put inside a good empanada, and its intense flavor brings all the sensations of the actual dish to each bite.

Instead of aji de gallina use finely diced lomo saltado, or use the aji de gallina leftovers to fill tequeños instead.

Ready to have fun in the kitchen?

The best time of the year has arrived!!! Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah! Depending on where you live, you’re either enjoying the first days of Spring, or the first days of Fall… how lucky are we all! The weather is mild and nature is transforming in such beautiful ways, making us all want to be outdoors, give hugs, and walk on rainbows. Or at least that’s what it does to me.

And this may sound weird to some, but even living abroad now, I feel the Spring blooming in my body and my spirit at this time of the year. I guess a girl can leave South America, but South America can’t leave the girl! And as I’m always looking ahead, despite my constant attempts at living in the present, Spring invariable makes me think of the radiant Summer lying ahead, which in Peru is equivalent to lots of fresh seafood eaten by the sea.

So this inspired me to make some chicharron de calamar (fried calamari) the other day, which is one of my favorite piqueos (shared appetizers) when in Peru. I went and bought the calamari, followed the instructions I was given, (I have to admit I was bit grossed out when handling the raw critters), and this delicious, world famous appetizer was ready to enjoy. Extremely easy! The one downside though, was that my apartment smelled of calamari for several days, despite the heavy burning of incense and aromatic candles that went on 24/7. So if you live in a restricted space, you may want to reconsider making these.

To make a long story short, my photos came out too dark, because it was one of those rainy NYC afternoons. So my mom, who is now in Peru, went to buy some awesome seafood there, and made it all over again, taking this cool pics. I really recommend you try this easy dish when having a dinner party, lunch with friends, or even just drinks. It’s just so easy to make and a guaranteed people-pleaser. But do keep in mind that it has to be prepared right when you’re going to serve it, as it can’t be re-heated, and calamari are not enjoyable when cold, as they turn soggy.

I leave you with a song to inspire you to make this. Happy Spring! Happy Fall! Happy best time of the year to you all!

Crispy, salty and addictive, chifles are easy to make but can be bought in every market and grocery store in Peru. They are so delicious that some producers are exporting them to other countries, and strangely enough, especially to Russia. Chifles are thinly sliced and deep fried plantains, sometimes served with cancha, and/or with shredded dried and salted beef, called charqui. And even though they are beloved in our country, (the northern part in particular), they are a favorite nibble in Central America and the Caribbean too.

To get the extremely thin plantain slices, you need a mandoline or a really sharp knife and a firm hand. A good vegetable peeler works too. Cut round slices, like coins, or long lengthwise slices that resemble swords. Have a pan with about three inches high of vegetable oil ready, and when hot submerge the slices to deep fry them. They will be ready in a few minutes; just stir them a few times without letting them become too golden. Drain on paper towels, salt lightly, and serve.

The greener the plantain, the better. Do not even think about ripe plantains for this because they will not work.We suggest you include not only green plantains, but yucca and sweet potatoes as well. Do not fry them together because they need different cooking times, yucca being the most delicate. It´s a good idea to put them in deep bowls and serve them as a snack or as an hors d’oeuvre before meals, to enjoy while waiting for the food to be served. They can be nibbled by themselves or with sauces to dip them in. Any chili pepper sauce will be fine, as will mayonnaise or guacamole.

Here you have the recipe for chifles.

 *Thanks to chef Roberto Cuadra for the great pics.

With many things to be grateful for, we want to wish all of you the happiest of holidays surrounded by family, friends, and good food. If you downloaded our free eBook with 6 Thanksgiving dessert recipes, we hope that you enjoyed it and found lots of inspiration for this special day.

Today we just want to share some finger food ideas with you. In Peru no party is complete without some colorful hors d’oeuvres to awaken everyone’s appetite, so if you still don’t know what to enjoy before dinner, we’re here to the rescue. All of these are very easy and can be made and assembled in advance. You´ll need very few ingredients, – you probably have most of them in the pantry-, and when ready, they look beautiful and are delicious.

1.- Boil cocktail potatoes, cut a thin slice from the top, take out some of the pulp with a spoon or a small melon baller, and fill the potatoes with whipped cream cheese, and fried and finely chopped bacon. Garnish with chopped bacon and curly parsley leaves.

2.- With a cookie cutter, cut white bread slices in small rounds or rectangles, and top with a dollop of whipped cream cheese and finely chopped ham. Garnish with bacon bits and dill.

3.- Cut brown bread slices in squares or rectangles, top with herbed cream cheese, and a slice of ham filled with a pickle and mayonnaise.

4.- Spread some mayonnaise over sliced bread.  Open a jar of green asparagus, cut them in three, and put several pieces on top of the bread. Garnish with slices of roasted bell peppers. We don’t like to brag, but Peruvian asparagus are the best. (Ok, maybe we do like to brag a little!)

5.- This cebiche-inspired canapes are slices of bread cut in circles, and topped with rounds of cooked sweet potato, a spoonful of mayonnaise, mushrooms and herbs. Sprinkle some fresh lime juice on top to give it an acidic kick.

6.- Buy ready-baked mini vol-au-vents, and fill them with cream cheese mixed with fried onion and finely chopped sun-dried tomatos. Garnish with a slice of red hot chili pepper and serve.

Thanks to Hugo Alvarado Moreno  for the photos.

Hajime Kasuga is one of the stars of Nikkei cuisine in Peru. But what is this style of cooking that has bewitched Peruvian palates and grown to the highest levels of sophistication in just a few years? Nikkei cuisine is the fusion of Peruvian and Japanese culinary traditions. Using ingredients of both countries, Japanese techniques, and prepared mostly by Japanese descendants, these culinary style is visually stunning, with dishes that are fresh and delicious masterpieces.

In his newly opened Ache Café, located in the heart of Miraflores, one of the busiest neighborhoods in Lima, Hajime is having a blast. As the creative mind behind every dish, he lets his imagination run wild, making food that is visually appealing, and mouthwatering. The entire experience is one of a kind, and is something extraordinary even in a city where Nikkei options abound.

If you eat here, you may want to start with a dish of triangular maki rolls covered with crunchy quinoa, for example.  The different textures create a party in your mouth, with a creamy filling, and a lightly sweet glutinous rice surrounded by a quinoa crust that makes every bite not only crispy but unique. You can follow this with a ginger – wasabi cebiche served  in a martini glass. This is basically a traditional cebiche, with Japanese highlights in the form of a wasabi foam and ginger flavor. A nice touch of finely grated citrus peel used to garnish the glass rim gives a delicate color accent to this appetizer.

The hot cebiche is another dish you can´t miss. It comes boiling to the table in a small plate that looks very much like a stone mortar. Hajime says that it took him a lot of time and experimentation to decide which was the right fish and the perfect timing to apply. The winner was conger eel, a gelatinous fish that stands beautifully in this cebiche. Cooked like a Sudado, a coastal dish, you can feel the flavor of a traditional cebiche in every bite: spicy, citrusy, and so fresh that you can taste the sea in it. Shrimp and squid top the fish.

On the menu one can also find many rice, noodle, fish, and pork options. And don´t forget to order something from the bar. Nazario is a young but experienced barman, whose creativity has won him the reputation of being one of the best in the continent. Working with Hajime for many years, he has designed several drinks that create perfect synergy with the original food of Ache.

I loved visiting Ache, and left the place feeling satisfied and excited. I even took a recipe home with me! Here it is for all of you.

Being a vegetarian, and not considering myself a huge fan of Paneton, has made my Christmas holidays in Peru anything but traditional.  The usual celebration that revolves around the turkey has always found me going for second and third servings of all the side dishes, and having more space than everyone else for dessert (I’m not complaining about that!).

Not being able to enjoy traditions in their full expression is no problem for me however, as I prefer to create my own traditions, and express more of who I am and what I like, and not so much what others tell me I should do.

One of these new traditions of mine is, for example, to create my own Christmas tree. Since I feel sorry for real trees and there’s no way I would buy one for decoration, last year I painted my tree on recycled supermarket paper bags put together with tape and glue. The result was certainly nothing to be hung in a museum, but it was fun, and it was me.

Another tradition I would like to incorporate into my Christmas celebration, now that I live away from my country again, is to include Peruvian food in the holiday menu, one way or the other.

For this reason, and inspired by a twitter party we hosted last night with Avocados from Mexico (#ILoveAvocados #latism), I decided to make an upgraded version of the exquisitely simple pan con palta (bread with avocado) that Peruvians enjoy for breakfast on an almost daily basis. Who needs complicated when you can have easy and delicious?

The usual pan con palta is just mashed avocado and salt inside a French bun (never underestimate the delights of simple pleasures!). For my upgraded pan con palta I toasted some slices of organic, sprouted, yeast-free, multigrain bread (sounds like alien bread but it’s actually very tasty, with the perfect combination of crunchy on the outside and sweet and creamy on the inside going on). I mashed the avocado, which, as I said,  is the way we Peruvians prefer to eat it, and added sun dried tomatoes, black olives, baby artichokes, pink salt, pepper, caraway seeds, and basil leaves. A squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of olive oil…and I’m ready to treat my friends and family to a unique and very personal Christmas appetizer. Make them smaller, and you also have some fantastic hors d’oeuvres for any occasion.

For more great Holiday avocado recipes you can visit Avocado from Mexico’s Posadas Page, filled with creative recipes by the one and only Chef Pepin.

*This post has been sponsored in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and Avocados from Mexico, but all stories and opinions are our own.

Guest post by Antonella Delfino

Quiches are not Peruvian by any means, but they are an important part of our diet. We eat them frequently as an appetizer, and they also are a great finger food alternative for family gatherings or big parties.

The last quiche I prepared was made of leek. I love this vegetable because it has a very delicate flavor and texture, which makes any dish feel really light. The recipe is very easy to follow and takes just a few minutes; and it´s also easy to play around with the ingredients and create multiple varieties of quiche by using broccoli, onions, mushrooms, or whatever you like best.

Depending on how you want to eat it, you have the option of serving it with a small side salad, or making it a stand-alone appetizer. My favorite is sharing it with friends and family, so I cut it into small cubes and serve it as hors d’oeuvres. This is a great idea if you´re having a New Years party next week, as nothing goes better with champagne than delicate flavors like these.

So while you work on your New Year resolutions, why don´t you try this wonderful quiche and tell us what you think?

Years ago, these lovely tartlets -or hojarascas as we call them in Peru- were ever present at the hors d´oeuvre table in every cocktail or dinner party. Despite being so popular in the past, they were eventually  relegated to the old fashioned department, as more chic and sophisticated nibbles became in vogue and replaced them. As I’m always thinking of new and old recipes to share with all of you here, I thought it would be a good idea to revamp these adorable and delicious bites, for old times sake, and to give you a taste of Lima in the past.

These tartlets may look time consuming, but it is quite the opposite. The delicate pastry doesn’t have to be baked at home, but can be conveniently bought at a grocery store or a bakery instead. The only thing you will need to do is prepare the aji de gallina, and fill up the shells. You can even have the stuffing ready in advance, (a great idea is to use leftovers to make this), and just heat it up when you want to assemble your hojarascas. Nobody will guess such good looking finger food took so little work to make.

Place about 1/2 tablespoon of aji de gallina in each tartlet, garnish with 1/4 hard-boiled quail egg, and parsley leaves. You may add a black olive slice too. Serve immediately in a pretty serving dish lined with a paper doily, and with cocktail napkins on the side.

Note: Don´t put these tartlets together in advance because after a couple hours the pastry becomes soggy from the filling.

Serve with cocktails or white wine.

Today we are revisiting our past by reposting this recipe for sushi rolls filled with causa instead of rice. For Thanksgiving a couple years, we posted a list of dishes that would give a Peruvian twist to the festivities. These “causushis” were part of that list.

As we browsed through all our previous posts a few days ago, we realized that probably very few people had the pleasure of stumbling upon this fun hors d’ oeuvres as they most likely stopped scrolling down the page once they found our scrumptious turkey recipe right at the top of it. After all, Turkey is what Thanksgiving is all about, isn’t it?

So here you have them one more time. The creamy, slightly spicy and lemony causushis. Peruvian and Japanese fusion at its best. Enjoy!

Originally made with a humble fish called bonito, escabeche is a classic appetizer served cold. A fried fish fillet is covered with a very tasty sauce made with aji panca, which imparts its fantastic red color, earthy flavor, and heat to this dish.

The assertive flavor of red wine vinegar is an important component of this recipe. However, I´m sure that back in colonial times, the poor origins of this dish didn´t allow cooks to use fine wine vinegars, so don´t feel that you need the best vinegar in the store to make a good escabeche. Use any vinegar you have in the pantry, but keep in mind that the red one will intensify the color a little bit. I don´t recommend the use of fine balsamic because that will give a very different a result (unless that’s what you’re looking for!).

The cold appetizer I have prepared today is the fusion of two of my favorite dishes. Causa joins forces with and original shrimp escabeche in this recipe, creating a flanboyant meal that I promise tastes as good as it looks.

Very high in the Andes, the beautiful city of Huancayo is the flourishing commercial emporium of the region. It has fantastic food and is abundant in fresh produce, especially artichokes. Papa a la Huancai­na, (potatoes Huancayo style) are boiled yellow potatoes covered with an even yellower spicy and creamy cheese sauce, and accompanied by hard-boiled eggs and black olives. This easy recipe is so popular that you can find the Huancai­na sauce everywhere: as a dip for crudites, quail eggs, corn, or fried yucca, as a sauce for spaghetti or risotto (surprisingly good), over Causa Limeña (I love this one), with steak…you name it. If it was up to me, I would have it even for dessert.

Creamy or lumpy, depending if it´s made in the blender, or by hand with a fork or in a mortar, its texture and flavor charms either way. But modern cooks rely on the blender because it´s easy and they can have the sauce ready in a minute. The food processor is another good idea, but here instead of queso fresco try to use cottage cheese or cream cheese. If the sauce is too dense add more milk. When ready it should have the consistency of custard.

The sauce can also be made in the blink of an eye if you have aji­ amarillo paste at hand. Just process about a few tablespoons of it with all the other ingredients, y listo!

It is a fact that some cooks like the sauce extremely spicy and they make it with raw aji amarillo using the seeds and ribs but it can be overpowering and make it difficult to appreciate the sensations of this unpretentious and satisfying dish. Do I make it spicy? Of course! But I enjoy a nice kick that is not excessively hot.

Last week, our fellow blogger and friend Maura Hernandez, author of the beautiful Mexican food blog The Other Side of the Tortilla, posted a picture and link to her Guacahummus recipe on Facebook.

Wait, what? Guacahummus? How on earth did we not think about this before?

In Peru -or at least in Lima- we have a mild obsession with guacamole, serving it next to all kinds of nibbles whenever we have the opportunity. On the other hand, my mother and I are wildly in love with Middle Eastern flavors (I have the slight suspicion she was an Arab in a past life), and hummus is a big part of our regular diet, most of the time prepared at home by us. So… 1+ 1 = 1. Mixing these two loves of ours into one big creamy extravaganza called Guacahummus had to be the best idea since sliced bread!

I immediately emailed Maura, asking her if we could make her recipe and share it with all of you. Friendly and helpful as ever, she said yes, and even gave us some tips on how to improve the recipe. “My mom complained that I didn’t add enough garlic, but I made it like this because I wanted my version to be kid friendly”, she confided.

This is the result of her delicious recipe, plus her tips and our own creativity. We made it before lunch and thought we would just have a few spoonfuls to open our appetites. Of course, that didn’t happen. We ate the whole bowl and all the toasts and veggies that were nicely placed around it, faster than we could say Guacahummus, while we took pictures of food and worked on our laptops.  It was a delicious, fun, summery lunch.

The best part of it all is that now we know how to surprise all our Peruvian friends next time we have a reason to get together. We’ll just give this super creative twist to the beloved avocado dip and watch them dig in.

It’s that time of the year again. You suddenly wake up and realize the summer is gone. But where, you wonder. The first chilly days of the fall are already here, and all the festivities of the end of year will start sooner than we know it.

For this year’s festivities, I propose that you try something different (unless you’re Peruvian or Venezuelan, and then this won’t be any different than the usual). If you’re hosting parties,  small dinners, or attending someone else’s gathering and want to help out a bit, these hors d’oeuvre will make you a popular girl or boy. You still have several weeks to practice and master the art of making tequeños, although they’re easier to make than they look.

Tequeños are an absolute classic in Peruvian celebrations, although they are originally from Venezuela. In Lima no party is complete without them, and people love them so much that many restaurants have them on their menu too, or even give them as a courtesy instead of the usual bread and butter before a meal.

I love tequeños mainly because I’m an indomitable cheese lover, but also because the way we eat them is a fantastic combination: cheese-filled wonton fingers, with guacamole. Who wouldn’t like this? And the great thing about them is that they’re never the same. Depending on the kind of cheese you stuff them with, the texture and taste changes; sometimes firm, sometimes completely gooey and melting in your mouth.

Guacamole also tends to have the particular touch of every cook.  Some people just mix mashed avocado with mayonnaise (this is very typical in Peru); or others, like my mom and I, put a bit more effort into it and mix the avocado with chopped onion, tomato, lemon, Tabasco, and fresh coriander.

Nowadays, with the gastronomic boom and the love for everything Peruvian, Venezuelan tequeños are being Peruvianized even more, filling them up with lomo saltado, ají de gallina, and other typical Peruvian dishes, or served with some creamy Huancaina sauce. I won’t even attempt at doing this today; I’m in the mood for something fast, easy, mess-free, and guaranteed to look and taste good even if you don’t do it perfectly or have no cooking experience.

Tequeños really are extremely easy to make, and so is guacamole. I hope you and your friends enjoy them, and they turn your upcoming party season into a fun and exciting encounter with foods from many corners of the world.

For more recipes like this go to The Everything Peruvian Cookbook.

If you have a craving for Peruvian corn, or haven’t tried it yet and would like an easy way to make it, this popular “piqueo” (hors d’oeuvre) recipe, is a good place to start. Made with boiled corn kernels, butter, cumin, and a squeeze of lime juice, choclito al comino also goes well with a number of dishes as a delicious side.

Like many items in our gastronomy, this dish has three different names: choclo Jose Antonio, for the restaurant that made it famous; choclo al comino, literally “cumin corn”; and choclo al Pacayal. 

Ok, this third name is not used by many people. I just happen to call it that way because the first time I had this dish was in a restaurant called El Pacayal. I didn’t make the name up however, that’s how they called it in their menu. Every time we ate there, the owner greeted us with a bowl of steamy and aromatic corn seasoned with cumin and butter.

This is another easy and tasty dish that hardly needs a recipe at all. You can make it with any fresh corn kernels, but if you find Peruvian giant corn, all the better.

And just for fun, and because I like cheese so much, I love to serve some slices of queso fresco next to this juicy corn preparation. What about you?

We’ve posted several empanada recipes here in the past (aji de gallina, gluten-free, cream cheese and apricot). But we haven’t posted the most typical ones (this has not been intentional), which include the classic empanada filled with minced meat and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar, and several vegetarian empanadas, usually filled with cheese, spinach, or artichokes.My favorite, hands down, is the artichoke empanada, which is not filled with artichoke pieces, but with an intensely flavored artichoke paste instead. Today I made this for the first time, and I didn’t follow any particular recipe. Instead, I let my intuition guide me to recreate the flavor I enjoyed so many times, growing up in Lima. 

I added some grated Parmesan cheese for creaminess, and sauteed onion, garlic, and oregano for taste. I also used sprouted whole wheat flour instead of white flour, simply because I don’t use refined flours if I can avoid it. But you can decide which flour to use for yourself.

I made all the stuffing in this recipe, but only half the dough, so I have quite a bit of stuffing left in the fridge. I already have several ideas of what I could do with it. Either I’ll use it as a dip for crackers or veggies, or I’ll stuff ravioli, tequeños, or a vegetarian lasagna with it. I could even add it to some quinoa, for an improvised artichoke quinotto. 

How about you? What would you use the leftover filling for?

I’ve been a vegetarian for most of my life, which is no easy endeavor if you grew up in a place like Peru. My country’s fabulous gastronomy is famous for its variety, its freshness, and unique flavors, but it certainly is not famous for being a particularly vegetarian-friendly cuisine. However, with so many years of experience in the art of fishing for vegetarian options within our traditional dishes, (and of creating them where I couldn’t find them), I don’t feel like I have to live a life deprived of Peruvian food just because I don’t eat meat.

Here are a few dishes that vegetarians can enjoy, although meat-eaters are welcome to try them too!

Papa a la Huancaina and Ocopa

Solterito

Tamale-style quinoa stew and Wheat berry stew

Arroz al Olivar and Arroz Chaufa

Fried yucca sticks with chili sauce

Vegetarian pastel de choclo (corn pudding), pastel de acelga (chard tart), and pastel de alcachofa (artichoke tart)

Menestrón (Peruvian minestrone), and Chupe de ollucos (Andean tuber soup)

Triple  and vegetarian sanguchón

Tallarines Verdes (Peruvian pesto)

Papa rellena (stuffed potato) and palta rellena (stuffed avocado)

Tamalito verde with cheese (green tamale) and Tacu tacu

Huevos a la Rabona

Locro (squash stew)

Last week we shared 22 of our favorite Peruvian dishes for vegetarians. But of course, we are well aware that there’s a stricter group of people that can’t enjoy many of the foods vegetarians can.

So this is for you, vegans of the world. Our 30 favorite vegan Peruvian dishes published so far in this blog.

Let’s start with some nibbles. If you’re a vegan, and you happen to be in my beautiful country, you will never find yourself short of crunchy and tasty finger food to keep you entertained while waiting for lunch or dinner. Cancha salada (Andean pop corn) and chifles are what you will most likely be served at Peruvian restaurants instead of bread (or next to it). Another version of fried plantains, called patacones in Peru or tostones in Central America, are also vegan and delicious.

Not so much a nibble, but an accompaniment for every dish, salsa criolla is a vegan’s dream come true when it comes to adding taste and texture to all kinds of food. Peruvians top most dishes with salsa criolla, so experiment with it even when the combination doesn’t seem like such a good idea at first. In most cases, it works well.

Another favorite accompaniment for literally everything, is rice. This version, called arroz moro, is particularly popular during Christmas.

In the soup category, cazuela, squash soup (crema de zapallo), or a basic lentil soup are three great vegan options.

In this blog we’ve also turned traditional appetizers like salpicon de pollo, papa a la huancaina, and causa, into vegan dishes. The result is not very typical, but we like to have fun and stir things up a bit every now and then. If you’re into trying new things, check them out.

Other traditional appetizers that do have vegan variations without much intervention on our part, are escabeche (this one is made with beans), cebiche (in this case made with mushrooms instead of raw fish or seafood), and tamalitos verdes (green tamales).

And thankfully, some appetizers are always completely vegan. Such is the case of escribano, a simple potato dish from Arequipa.

Now to the most important part of the meal. Here’s a vegan (and raw) take on my favorite childhood dish: tallarines verdes (Peruvian-style pesto). This version is a bit unorthodox (OK, a lot), but incredibly tasty nevertheless, so it’s all good.

And just like there’s a famous green pasta dish in Peru, there’s also a famous red pasta dish that is prepared in every household and market: tallarines rojos. This Peruvian-style pomodoro sauce can have meat in it, or be completely vegan, like in this case.Lomo saltado, corn pepian, arroz con pollo, puca picante, and arroz tapado, are some of the most traditional entrees that are, or can be easily turned vegan, without sacrificing the taste.

Finally, let’s talk about dessert (you know you were waiting for this part!). There are a few traditional desserts in Peru that are not only delicious but also vegan. Isn’t that wonderful? Some of these are mazamorra morada, champus, many colorful and refreshing chups in the summer, humitas, and even the super famous Peruvian version of doughnuts or beignets, called picarones.

Chocolate cake also holds a special place in the hearts of many sweet-toothed Peruvians, and we recently shared a vegan recipe to make it at home.

Other sweets, like tejas (my all time favorite), are not usually vegan. They are filled with manjarblanco, which is a thicker version of dulce de leche. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Since I’m a health nut and I love them, I did the hard work for you and turned them vegan ages ago. I also did the same with alfajores. So here you have them.