South American food highlights

One of my favourite things about travelling is the food. During my 5 week holiday in South America there certainly were some food highlights (there were also some low-lights, including a few that came back to haunt me hours later). I was surprised to find a strong Italian and Mexican influence on the food. Below are some of my favourite foods...

'Pumpkins with something from the vegetables garden and cow-cheese' at our favourite Buenos Aires restaurant, Mott. This salad was so delicious we went back the next day for a second helping.

Lovely delicate pumpkin and sage ravioli at Cluny in Buenos Aires. A three course meal here, including breads, bottled water and wine cost us the equivalent of about $25 New Zealand.

Lemon meringue pie seemed to be the most common desert in South America; this one was particularly good, with the base and curd just melting into each other.

Of course the South Americans are big on steak... we often struggled to get through the massive servings of meat.

We stayed at a great place La Loge in La Paz, Bolivia. After befriending the French chef Frank we were looked after very well, treating us to their famous chocolate mousse. We were pretty impressed that Frank took us out to the discotech till 2am, and then was back at work making us pancakes for breakfast at 8am.

We enjoyed local cheeses with quinoa crackers along with a duck carpaccio and orange salad at El Consulado in La Paz.

Also at El Consulado, I had this pink drink, which from my interpretation was made with Frangipanis. Rather than floral flavours, it was more grape-like, but whatever it was, it was delicious!

We were served this tofu fried rice on a boat ride in Peru's Amazon Basin. There's something pretty special about food coming wrapped in a banana leaf, and even better, when your done you can just throw the packaging overboard.

I've already written about our 'base' in Cusco Granja Heidi. But it deserved another mention as everything we ate there was perfect. We especially enjoyed this mulled wine. There's nothing quite like mulled wine when your body's tired from trekking and it's cold outside!

After eating out for every meal for several weeks one starts to crave a home cooked meal (probably for me it's not just the taste, but also the process of cooking). We had a lovely couple of days at an eco lodge in Coroico in Bolivia. And with our own outdoor kitchen we were able to whip up a pasta dish with local market produce.

And perhaps one of my fondest food memories was from the supermarket in La Paz. I have always had a fondness for foreign supermarkets and we were lucky enough to visit this one on their 24th birthday. It was all go with party tables all over the shop (check out the swan sculpture near the back of the table) and entertainment with singers, dancers and a 7 person mariachi band. I don't quite know how they will top it for their 25th birthday!

a few of our favourite things...

Miriam: I've been in Peru for a couple of weeks now and I must say that in general the food has been very disappointing, often bland starch accompanied by miscellaneous meat and far too much salt. However, we're slowly discovering some wee gems, like these empanadas, fresh from a pizza oven in a wee back alley operation in the town of Pisac. Filled with cheese, tomato and olives they were just perfectly fresh and well balanced. We went back for seconds.

Sadly, the coffee in Peru is a world away from the flat whites i'm used to in NZ. It's pretty standard to order cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and be presented with some hot water, a sachet of Nescafe and a jug of milk. I think I'm better sticking with coca tea (used to help with altitude sickness) or this delicious 'happiness tea' at one of my now favourite cafes, Grande Heidi in Cusco.

Becs: I missed Downton Abbey when it screened on TV earlier this year, but after hearing so much raving about it I decided to buy the DVD and have a Downton marathon. I loved it! Pretty dresses, scenery, intriguing storylines and scheming galore, I can't wait for series two to be released.

Libby: The Meyer lemons in the shops at the moment are just lovely - bright yellow and so juicy. I had a go at preserving some this weekend. I packed sterilised jars with coarse salt and lemons (quartered nearly all the way through) and topped up with lemon juice and a little boiling water. I was amazed at how many lemons I could squeeze into a jar! Now they have to sit for a month - fingers crossed they work. {Lurking in the background is my LEAST favourite thing for the week - failed one-bowl-banana-bread that's missing one vital ingredient: sugar! I halved the recipe, but somehow managed to delete the sugar altogether...}