irst visited Peru, the cuisine’s sophistication and diversity, combined with its simultaneous simplicity and complexity, dazzled me. I loved the delicious and spicy ceviches, made from freshly caught Pacific seabass and garnished with choclo, large-kerneled corn and slices of sweet potato. The vast array of potatoes — estimates of native types range from 3,500 to more than 5,000, plus 150 sweet potato varieties — amazed me, especially the unusual chuños, freeze-dried potatoes which Andean Altiplano residents still preserve and prepare using ancient, pre-Columbian techniques. With its combination of chilies, spices and native plants, including more than 650 distinctive fruits, the cuisine’s flavors were at once subtle yet spicy, layered and always fascinating.
Fresh fish, corn, potatoes and other tubers, quinoa, beans, chilies, tomatoes, augmented by cuy (a large guinea pig raised for meat) and alpaca — these were the staples of the indigenous Peruvian diet that the Spaniards quickly intermingled with their European agricultural imports, both enhancing the native ingredients and transforming Peruvian dishes.
It’s hard to contemplate Peru’s national dish, ceviche, without the onions and citrus the Spanish brought, but ceviche originated with ancient Incas and Quechuas who marinated and “cooked” the fish with tumbo, an acidic fruit similar to passion fruit. Yet Japanese and Chinese influences, part of Peru’s culinary melting pot, transformed it again, creating newer Asian-inspired versions.
For centuries Spanish and French preparations dominated the country’s kitchens, yet in recent years Peruvian cuisine has come into its own. A new generation of chefs has revived the country’s native ingredients, recovering and preserving them, seeking out forgotten offerings from the country’s geographically diverse regions, from the Pacific seashore, Amazon jungle and Andean Antiplano, spanning more than 80 microclimates. They’ve combined them with culinary influences from the Japanese, Chinese, Italians, French, Arabs, Africans and other immigrants who’ve made Peru a rich melting pot. The resulting nueva comida has revitalized Lima’s dining scene and catapulted the city to the top four highest-rated world dining destinations, along with New York, Mexico City and London.
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