Among the various culinary activities we offer there is a hands-on cooking class where you have the chance to learn the basics of Peruvian traditional dishes, such as the classic “ceviche” and the yummy “lomo saltado”. As for travellers opinion, this is one of the best classes especially if you happen to be in Peru for few weeks and you do not know anything about Peruvian cuisine and ingredients it is a great starting point. You can opt for a private or grupal cooking class, this is actually up to you, but the fun is definitely guaranteed.

Usually this culinary activity starts with a tasting of local fruits, such as “granadilla”, “pacae”, “tumbo”, “pepino melón” and “tuna”, among others. This way you can have a better idea of the exotic flavors you can find in the country and the different tastes you can encounter.

After this fruit tasting the cooking class begins and you generally start preparing a traditional dish, eaten as starter by Peruvians: “Causa Limeña”. Causa is served in the main Peruvian restaurants, it is a sort of a little cold savory potato pie, made with yellow native potatoes, salt, oil, yellow aji pepper, black pepper, lemon, avocado, mayonnaise and filled with different ingredients: you can opt for a chicken filling, prawns, tuna, a mix of chopped vegetables such as carrots, peas, green beans and beatroots. Al theses ingredients need to be mixed with mayo adn go in the middle of two layers of potatoes dough. To garnish the dish you can add on top black olives, a slice of boiled egg and aji pepper. Here you can find more information on the recipe: http://taste-of-peru.com/how-to-make-a-delicious-causa-limena/ Causa is definitely the best way to start a traditional Peruvian meal.

Once the causa is ready, obviously you can taste your own culinary creation, our cooking class is not just about cooking but also about eating and tasting new combinations of flavors.  

After this entry dish you prepare a delicious traditional Peruvian “ceviche” with fresh fish just bought in the local fishers market. During this preparation you will learn to dose the right amount of ingredients to reach the right flavor; I basically refer to lime, salt, yellow aji pepper. This is a raw preparation where the seafood is cooked in lime juice. Sometimes during the cooking class you can also learn to prepare “leche de tigre”, in English the name of the dish would be something like “Tiger Milk”, a sort of seafood cocktail made of lime juice, fresh fish juice, aji pepper, salt and cilantro. It is basically the juice of the ceviche, served with “chifles”, salty banana chips, and “canchita”, salty Peruvian corn. This name cames from the fact that Peruvians believe this dish has high nutritive and aphrodisiac properties. Actually, it is a fact that this explosive cocktail has a high concentration of phosphorous and calcium which can give a lot of strenght to the human body.

As you go on with the cooking class, you will learn how to prepare a juicy “lomo saltado”, another dish from the traditional Peruvian gastronomy. The ingredients you need to cook a “lomo saltado” are beef meat chopped in cubes, roughly sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, potatoes, rice, oil, meat broth, white vinegare, salt, yellow aji pepper and “sillao”, a sort of soy sauce often used in Peruvian stir fried dishes. The salted meat is usually served with fried native potatoes and Peruvian-style steamed rice. Sometimes you can find corn grains in the rice. This is the stir fried Peruvian dishes par excellence, that you can find in all the menus of traditional Peruvian restaurants. Here you can find the complete recipe for this delicious dish: http://taste-of-peru.com/how-to-make-lomo-saltado/

At the end of the cooking class and the tasting you will learn how to make a traditional Peruvian dessert: “Suspiro a la Limeña”, in English would be “Sigh of Woman”. This is a dessert made of two main part, a velvety sweet cream and a maringue on top. Main ingredients for the cream are whole milk, egg yolks and sugar, you can flavor the cream with several fruits, such as lucuma or chirimoya among others. The meringue is a classic one, made with egg white, sugar and you cn add a splash of port wine if you like. On top of the dessert, after covering the cream with the meringue, a sprinkle of cinnamon powder. The result is a yummy dessert with a strong flavor! Here you can find the step-by-step recipe: http://taste-of-peru.com/a-traditional-peruvian-dessert-suspiro-a-la-limena/

 

So what are you waiting for? Come to Peru and learn the basis of Peruvian traditional cuisine with us!