Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A feast: Peruvian style

Yesterday was a national holiday and so we got a day off from school.  It was all in aid of "Dia del Trabajador" or the day of the worker which is a little ironic really but I certainly wasn't complaining! Myself and another two English teachers from the school decided to head into Miraflores for a relaxing lunch and to taste some of the local delicacies.  We headed to a restaurant in Larcomar, top tourist destination in Lima, where you can get just about any type of food that you might want but I had a specific type of thing in mind.  I've been in Peru now nearly 4 months but hadn't tried one of the Peruvian national dishes: ceviche.  Ceviche is raw fish marinated in lemon juice and served with choclo (giant corn) sweet potatoes and onions.  I have to admit that it doesn't sound awfully appetising but I fancied at least trying it.
Ceviche: one of Peru's national dishes


We decided on a restaurant on the cliff side with a wonderful view across the Pacific ocean.  I was pretty nervous about my raw fish lunch (I'd heard lots of horror stories of terrible food poisoning people had got from ceviche) but I knew I would be dissappointed to go hoem without trying it.  I only asked for a tiny bit, worried that I wouldn't be able to swallow it.  I sat there looking at it for quite a while before eventually plucking up the courage to put into my mouth and swallow it.  Once I got over the idea of chwing on a pirce of raw fish, I realised that it was actually quite nice!  Raw fish isn't something I'm used to but ceviche is very light with a mild taste of fish and a stronger taste of lemon.  I'm not sure if I'd have it again but I am glad I tried it.  It's certainly not as bad as I expected.

After our buffet lunch, we headed for coffee and we spent the rest of the afternoon lazily walking along the clifftop seafront.  The smell of the sea air made me think of home.  It's amazing how little things like the sound of the waves on the shore, the smell of the sea, the taste of familiar food or the sound of a familiar voice or song can remind you of home even though you may be thousands of miles away.  I guess the old cliche must have some truth in it: home is where the heart is.


Paragliders on a beautiful late
 summer's day in Miraflores Lima
Sunset over the Pacific ocean
: from the clifftops  of Lima
From the cliff tops of Miraflores you can watch, and have a go if you feel brave enough, some tandem paragliding.  This is something I'm really keen on doing but for some reason Dad isn't quite so keen on the idea.  To me nothing would be a better reminder of Lima than soaring high above the city and out towards the ocean in the setting tropical sun.


Another interesting thing I did this past week was try another Peruvian national dish, this time from the Sierra region.  It has 4 legs, whiskers and in Scotland we keep them as pets.  In Peru they eat them.  One of the teachers from school very kindly invited me to his house to try guinea pig or "cuy" as they call it here.  I was pretty worried! I always thought of guinea pigs as pets and definitely not something that should be on a menu! Carlos' mother, a lovely lady, very kindly showed me how to prepare this delicacy although I don't think I'll ever be preparing it myself anyway.  It's usually baked or fried and served with potatoes and rice.  I  was horrified to see it still had its head, teeth and claws but Peruvians are very proud of their food and I definitely didn't want to disappoint Carlos' mother who had put lots of time and effort into making the meal.


Actually it really wasn't as bad as it sounds.  The worse bit about it was that i hadn't a clue how to eat it.  I attempted using a knife and fork, after all how many times throughout the years did Mum or Dad tell me to use my cutlery and not my fingers!  Everyone thought it was quite amusing to watch me wrestle with the guinea pig until I eventually ditched the knife and fork and ate with my fingers like everyone else.


Cuy is served whole because it's so small and hasn't got much meat on it anyway.  It has lots of little bones and tastes a little like chicken but is definitely darker.  Although it wasn't unedible, it's not something I'd have again just because its so fiddly and I've not got the patience for picking at the bones.  It is definitely worth a try though, if you can get over the claws and teeth and the idea that probably not so long ago your meal was running around someone's garden.  I certainly lived to tell the tale but I have to say, I'd rather see the poor guinea pig in a cage in a pet shop than on my plate!
Cuy or Guinea pig: another of Peru's national dishes!







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