My first encounter with comida Peruana was over 20 years ago, thanks to my wife’s Peruvian family. Their cooking was a study in juxtaposition: hot and cold, acidic and starchy, robust and delicate. That’s because Peruvian food is all about spices and big flavors, some clean and crisp, others deep and heavy. Every sip of a pisco sour tamed the citrus and chile assault of a ceviche, the fish so fresh it almost crunched between my teeth.
When most of us think of Peru, we think of the ancient ruins and high mountain vistas. Those thoughts may be accompanied by a distant pan flute whistling over the Andes, and if we’ve been primed on the food, the conversation usually starts with the country’s mind boggling variety of potatoes.
Papas a la Huancaina (Potatoes in Spicy Cheese Sauce)
Alan Sheffield, Flickr
In another instance of “meat or starch covered in creamy sauce,” sliced yellow potatoes are drenched in a purée of queso fresco, aji amarillo, garlic, evaporated milk, lime juice and—you guessed it—saltine crackers. It’s not a looker: a yellow sauce over yellow potatoes topped with yellow-yolked hard boiled eggs. But don’t be deceived; this homely sauce packs a complex, slow-building burn, at once brightened by the queso fresco, lime, and salty cracker, and tamed by the earthy potato and cooling egg.
