Pisco and Ceviche

I had never had a Pisco Sour until The Hotel Boliver in Lima. A reccommendation from a friend who was in the navy and was in the know. Wow......talk about knock your socks off! Two (actually they do make a double) will leave you laughing in the street. A mix of the delicious Pisco (made from grapes...smells a little tequila-ish but not really), sugar syrup, lime, bitters and egg white is the secret potion. Hubby and I set off on the quest for the perfect Pisco (unfortunately the best was actually the first! The Boliver Hotel each year wins the title for the "best Pisco in Peru" award).

Pisco is named after Pisco which is situated on the Peruvian coast, south of Lima. The story goes that it is named after the conical vase that it was aged in called a pisco. Pisco is also the cocktail of choice in Chile and Bolivia. The Peruvians and the Chileans having argued for centuries about who in fact invented it..........sounds a little bit pavlova-ish to me. Bloody Kiwis.

Ceviche being one of my all time favorites and a Peruvian National dish - I was in heaven! Luckily Ceviche and pisco compliment each other quite well.

Trout ceviche (which my brother mispronounced in Spanish and ended up ordering a very rude part of the female anatomy!!) was on every menu. The raw fish , diced and marinated in lime juice with fresh herbs and seasoning was incredible.

I also discovered a shooter of ceviche which was loaded up with the peruvian yellow or red chillies - absolutely fantastic. I think we all know a friend who will find the  fish  shake shooter too much to even contemplate...but for those that love it. This is the ultimate shot!

But like the Pisco's not every Ceviche is born equal. This particular ceviche above was the best we had - in Hancao (said Wankao...the townsfolk are known as Wankas...TRUE STORY) up in the mountains in a restaurant whilst we were killing time until siesta had finished and the shops opened (4pm).......why oh why cant we do that here???

So now the quest continues to recreate the Perfect Pisco and the Perfect Ceviche all in time for Christmas lunch when my new Peruvian in laws are coming for lunch!

Peruvian Pachamanca

Did you know that in Peru they have 3000 different varieties of potato (papa's). The produce available in Peru is amazing.....apparently a few years agao they cleaned up in the organic produce awards in Italy, winning 28 of the 28 categories available.

My family and I have been lucky enough to spend 3 weeks in Peru as my brother married a gorgeous girl whose family live in Lima. Not any ordinary tourist holiday this one.....

For my dads 77th birthday we were up in the mountains at their house in Jauja where they threw him a surprise party! A pachamanca! Pacha means earth and manca is earthen pot. This style of cooking has been around since the Incas and is now still an important part of Peruvian cuisine. They enlisted the help of Emilio, the town pachamanca specialist, who arrived early in the morning to prepare the oven and heat the rocks. Meanwhile the girls all headed to the market for the ingredients. A typical Pachamanca meal consists of potatoes (lots of 'em!), guinea pig (yes please!), chicken, pork, beef, lamb, corn tamales and green lima beans.

Typically the rocks are heated for 3 - 4 hours then all the rocks on the top are removed and the food is layered in the earth. Potatoes first followed by the beef, lamb, chicken and guinea pig (yes it was delicious...like sweet chicken), then a few more rocks are layered in and the corn tamales are placed around the rocks. Then a layer of alfalfa and the lima beans are all thrown on top.

The corn tamales were lovingly made by Pale (92 years old and just completed his law degree!!) over the
course of 2 days! Mind you the corn in peru is like it is on growth steroids - each kernal being the size of a 5 cent piece. The raw corn is put through a mincer and then Pale stirred thru some sugar and  raisins and then packed it back into the corn husks.

Then another layer of the alfalfa and a layer of bags and then the whole mound is covered in dirt until there is no smoke escaping. A cross made with 2 sticks is then placed in the top of the mound - when this falls over the food is ready!

All the food is unloaded into baskets and taken to the table where it is consumed with your hands and accompanied by bread and a special chilli sauce - made with the ubiquitous peruvian yellow chilli! What a treat! But that was not all.........while we are eating we hear a band playing in the back yard. We go out to find a 10 piece band and dancers swirling around the yard.

What an afternoon......dancing, drinking Cervesa (beer) with the band and Emilio (the undisputed pachamanca king of Jauja) in the back yard. All the locals were in the street dancing. I don't think my dad has ever had a birthday like it......not quite sure what we are going to do next year to top it!