A colourful Peruvian appetizer

An easy Peruvian appetizer, Colca Canyon style

In Europe, we’ve only been eating quinoa for a couple of years and my guess is that in the coming years more Peruvian products will be imported to Europe. Peru has so many different kinds of foods. For instance: they don’t just have one kind of corn. They grow over 30 varieties. Or potatoes. In Peru, you’ll find over a hundred varieties of them.

When I was in Peru I enjoyed visiting markets to see all these colourful products. And I enjoyed eating them as well, obviously.

Cactus fruits

In the Colca Canyon I had some of the best Peruvian meals of my trip. Beautiful buffets where I always ate a little bit more than I should! But it was so good! At the first of the Colca Canyon trip, we built our own appetizer for lunch. I liked the concept so much that I tried to make my own version of it back home, when I had some friends over. The idea is simple: you provide everyone with a cooking ring and you put all the ingredients on the middle of the table. Everyone can then construct their appetizer with the ingredients they like. You can work for instance with the following ingredients (for 4 persons):

  • 2 mashed sweet potatoes;
  • Tuna (one can will be enough);
  • Some mayonnaise and paprika powder to mix through the tuna;
  • Olives;
  • Capers;
  • A handful cherry tomatoes (halved);
  • 2 avocados (halved)
  • Some parsley.

An easy Peruvian appetizer, Colca Canyon style

And then… let everyone built their own dish. Let them put the ring on a plate and stuff it with whatever they like. Make sure that they start with the potatoes, to have a solid base, and that they will press the ingredients tidily together. Let them remove the ring carefully. And seriously: that’s it. Everyone has the meal they prefer and it also looks nice! Buen provecho!