Peruvian Cuisine: Arequipa

I lived in Arequipa, Peru for around 8 months beginning in August of 2016. I had never heard of it before moving there, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is fiercely proud of its cuisine. Peruvian cuisine varies widely from city to city, and sometimes even from neighborhood to neighborhood and my particular bias led me to the conclusion that you can't beat Arequipeñan food.

A view from one of the many rooftop cafes surrounding the Plaza de Armas

First, the atmosphere of the city: it is high desert, and surrounded by three volcanoes, all with a very different character. There is Pichu Pichu, the softest of them all with a blunt, rounded top. Then there is Chachani, the snow-covered stereotypical peak you might associate with the Andes. Finally, there is Misti. Misti is the closest volcano and it towers at 20,000 feet over the city. The Misti Museum tells you that if it were to erupt again, everyone in Arequipa would die before being able to evacuate.

The city itself is Spanish, built in the 16th century, and the walls are made of a white volcanic stone called sillar. The centro is cobblestone streets and beautiful walls of sillar, hiding beautiful courtyards filled with bougainvilleas and tile.

Street Food

Of course, no cuisine can be fully appreciated without becoming acquainted with the street food of a place. Arequipa does not disappoint on this point.

Queso Helado

For 1 sole, or about 30 cents, you can enjoy a queso helado. While queso means cheese, the name is somewhat misleading as there is no cheese in this delicious dessert.

Strategically positioned throughout old town, you'll see these women set up with their umbrellas on corners selling queso helado. They have a large metal, almost cone-shaped bucket from which they scoop your queso helado into a small cup and top it with cinnamon. It's similar to vanilla ice cream but much richer and with a stronger, deeper flavor. Sometimes it has coconut. Very enjoyable on those Arequipeño hot days, which stretch for most of the year save for the rainy season in the spring.

Churros

Coming from San Antonio, Texas, I thought I was familiar with churros. In Texas, these are crispy, ridged desserts filled with custard and sprinkled with sugar, almost like a cylindrical, cripsier cream puff.

In Arequipa, churros are much more delightful. They are long, soft, doughy dreams filled with manjar blanco, another Arequipeño delight. Manjar is similar to dulce de leche or caramel. There were two churro fronts on my walk to work, one that was open in the early afternoon and the other that was open until around 9 at night. Obviously, I was very aware of when I was able to get a churro.

Alfajores

Be still my heart. These are delicious cookies that I usually just bought in bodegas, which are just dusty, open air convenience stores. They are the inverse of oreos. Alfajores are two crumbly sugar cookies dusted with powdered sugar, sandwiched together with manjar blanco and then rolled in shredded coconut. These are traditional to much of South America but they vary greatly depending on where you are. I personally favor the Arequipeño ones.

Anticuchos

Meat on a stick! This is often a late night option and they are stationed on most street corners in centro historico at night. It is various types of meat on a stick, most traditionally heart. This option is only recommended to those that have a don't-ask-don't-tell policy on what kind of meat they're eating. I wouldn't be surprised if a rat or cat made it in there sometimes. Another late night option is a simple sandwich. Served on a bun with your choice of meat, shoestring potatoes and cremas. Your cremas options are aji, a spicy pepper sauce; ajo, a purple garlic sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and chimichurri.

Traditional Dishes

Adobo

Oh, Adobo. If I had to choose one food to take the position of most-pined-for since I left Peru, this would have to be it. This dish is also widely knocked-off, even in Arequipa. This food has to be eaten at a certain time, in a specific neighborhood. Anywhere outside of this window of opportunity, and you're probably not eating the real thing.

The time to eat Adobo is in the wee morning hours on Sunday in the Cayma district of Arequipa. The idea is that you stay up all night drinking and then stumble in for adobo the next morning.

Cayma is the neighborhood on top of the hill, as I liked to think about it. It was the first place I lived when I moved there and it was a 30 minute walk straight up the hill from my work. It has beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Yanahuara, the neighborhood immediately below Cayma, also offers some adobo much of which is probably very delicious, but Cayma is still the traditional epicenter of adobo life.

Adobo has a reputation for being able to levanta muertos, or wake the dead. This is likely because of its extreme spice which comes from the traditional rocotto pepper. This pepper is at the center of much of Arequipa's traditional cuisine. Along with this fiery pepper, pork is stewed overnight along with garlic, onions, aji, adobo and chicha. Chicha is another wonderful aspect of Peru that will come up a lot. It is ground purple corn and is served with every meal as a drink, sometimes fermented and sometimes not. Both are delicious. Adobo is served with traditional tres puntas bread (meaning three points).

Picanterias

Picanterias, meaning literally 'spicy stores', are traditional restaurants. They are so-named for the famous rocotto pepper. These restaurants often run out of their food towards late afternoon, so it's a good idea to get there early. The place to visit a picanteria in Arequipa is Yanahuara, the neighborhood below Cayma and directly above the Rio Chili. Directions in Arequipa are always given as 'up' or 'down' as its on a hill. My favorite picanteria was La nueva palomino.

This is where you can get delicious chupe de camaron, a rich, creamy, cheesy, spicy red soup filled with shrimp or crawfish. Rocotto relleno is also a delicious dish consisting of a rocotto pepper stuffed with ground beef, cheese and vegetables. This is also a place where you can get cuy. This is a fried guinea pig, traditional to the Amazon. A word of warning: they are not skinned, their eyes and feet are still attached. They are also extremely expensive compared to other dishes, around 50 soles, and they don't have much meat on them. Still, it's an experience that many feel is necessary when visiting Peru. Another of my favorite dishes was causa relleno. It is a casserole dish prepared with yellow potatoes mashed together and layered with avocado, mayonnaise, and chicken. Causa, while available all over Peru, varies widely and is best in Arequipa.

Beautiful causa relleno

One of my students dressed up as a cuy for Halloween

Drinks

Finally, a list would not be complete without including the traditional drinks of Peru. While these aren't unique to Arequipa, they still require a mention.

Chicha morada, on the left, is the purple corn drink served at all menus in Arequipa. A menu is a simple, pre-set lunch meal that you can get in hole-in-the-wall restaurants for around 5 soles (or around $1.25). It comes with a starter, usually soup, and then some sort of meat served with rice, and a cold glass of chicha. This was a staple for me working on a teacher's salary.

Anis, on the right, is a clear liquor made from anise and tasting strongly of licorice. This is often drunk after a meal to settle to the stomach. This is also served outside of churches on Catholic holidays while people mill around and wait for fireworks.

Finally, my favorite, the pisco sour. Pisco is a liquor made from grapes. The delicious pisco sour is made with pisco, lime, egg white, and bitters. It is similar to a margarita in flavor but is frothier. There is an ongoing debate between Peru and Chile about who invented pisco, and more specifically the pisco sour, but as there is actually a city in Peru called Pisco I am inclined to side with Peruvians . Of course, I'm biased.

Enjoying a round of pisco sours with friends at Crepissimo's, a good restaurant to try

Even this fairly exhaustive list feels like it has deliciousness left out of it. Many people only travel to Arequipa because it's a setting off point to climb one of the surrounding volcanoes or hike Colca Canyon, but it is well worth a visit for its own merits, not least of which is its traditional cuisine which truly can't be had anywhere else.

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