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 Pasco is one of the central Peruvian regions. High mountain plateaus correspond to the western part of its territory, and high jungles inhabited by ethnic groups of Arawaks correspond to the eastern part. Among other departments, it stands out for its rich cultural heritage, beauty of unspoiled landscapes and gastronomic diversity.
Pasco's regional cuisine combines traditional products from the Sierra and Selva. The Oksapampa and Pichis-Palkasu valleys supply rice, durum corn, beans, cassava, and squash. Peanuts, vegetable bananas, oranges are also grown here, papaya and cocoa, and the Villa Rica area is recognized as the Peruvian coffee capital. Cattle breeding is also developed in the department, cheese making and beekeeping, and many ethnic groups live by hunting and fishing.
Most of the dishes in the region have characteristics similar to those of other localities. So, in Pasco, it is common to eat guinea pigs cooked in peanut sauce with dried chili, called ahi punk (picante de cuy)... The exotic delicacy is accompanied by large boiled potatoes, corn and greens. A well-known pre-Hispanic dish is pachamanca - lamb or pork stewed in an earthen oven on stones under the turf with cassava, potatoes, ulluko, oka, corn and aromatic herbs.
Classic soup, caldo de cabezacooked in lamb head broth with yellow potatoes, white corn and chili mirasol. When served, it is accompanied by finely chopped Chinese onions and rocoto peppers. With lamb's head and corn, as well as peritoneum and meat from the leg, they cook and mondongo soupwhich should simmer overnight. When preparing it, an interesting tradition is followed: when the pan is covered with a lid, two crossed knives are placed on it so that “the soul of the deceased does not touch the broth and spoil it”.
Agouti meat is used for cooking roast (asado)... To do this, it is soaked in vinegar with soy sauce, pepper, garlic and caraway seeds, and then fried in a pan with a little water. A salad of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes and potatoes with Creole sauce are suitable as a side dish for the roast. According to a similar principle in Pisco they cook beef liver (higado especial)adding a little flour while frying. Serve liver with white onion rings, chopped parsley and lime.
Traditional and delicious stews are charquican, arvejas con carne and murmunta... Charkikan gained fame during the liberation campaigns of General San Martin due to its simplicity and taste - the basic ingredients of this stew were tubers of potatoes, cassava, oki, ulluko, anyu, as well as corn, chili, onions and garlic. The vegetarian option is the most common, but there are recipes that include beef or other meats. Arvejas con carne is a stew with green peas, potatoes, carrots, onions and other ingredients. This dish often accompanies boiled rice. Murmunta also represents meat stew, which is complemented by freshwater algae from high mountain lagoons.
The Pasco regional cuisine menu perfectly combines both traditional indigenous and foreign dishes, in particular, Austrian and Prussian ones. In the restaurants of the capital of the department, you can find classic sausages, meatball soup (knodelsuppe), raisin muffins (gugelhupf) and various strudels with apples or bananas in puff pastry (strucala).
Elena
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