Peruvian Food for Vegetarian Travelers

Peruvian food, so famed for its variety and surprising flavors, is meat- and poultry-centric in many ways. That doesn't mean that vegetarian travelers will find themselves without options, however. Here, we've compiled a list of traditional options.

Papa a la Huancaína & Ocopa

Creamy and spicy Huancaína sauce is named after the high Andean city of Huancayo and often spread over boiled potatoes, accompanied by hard-boiled eggs and black olives. It’s made with yellow chili, milk, and cheese, and thickened with crackers. Ocopa sauce is similar, but employs two significant additions: peanuts and black mint (huacatay).

Solterito

Solterito is a cold and refreshing salad from Arequipa, assembled from fava beans, corn, diced red onion, tomato, cheese, and spicy red rocoto pepper. Sometimes, cooked potato, hot peppers, or sweet potato is added. It’s dressed in oil and vinegar, with chopped parsley and olives.

Vegetarian Pasteles

Pastel de choclo is pudding from Andean corn, while pastel de alcachofa is artichoke tart and pastel de acelga is chard tart. The latter is the easiest to find; you only need to visit the bakeries, where it is often on offer alongside the empanadas and tarts.

Arroz al Olivar & Papa al Olivar

In Lima, there’s a olive grove and park known as El Olivar, which has been there for centuries. Perhaps the city’s purple rice, cooked with pureed purple botija olives can be traced back to there!

Locro de Zapallo

This rustic Andean squash stew is difficult to describe, as everyone has their own interpretation.

Tacu Tacu

Starchy tacu tacu is a filling dish often concocted from leftover canary beans and rice. The beans are mashed and then mixed with the rice in one big patty that’s crunchy on the inside and creamy on the inside. You need to inquire to make sure that the legumes weren’t cooked with ham bones or other meat flavorings.

Tallarin Verde

This dish of spaghetti bathed in a basil, spinach and cheese sauce that approximates a basic Peruvian pesto.

Chupe de Ollucos

This thick soup is based on a hearty Andean tuber called olluco, and is thickened with with cheese, milk, or egg.

At Pirwa Restaurant, most dishes do include seafood, meat, or poultry. However, there are some vegetarian options to choose from. Starters such as Papa a la Huancaína and Quinua Tabouleh, a variety of creamed vegetable soups, yucca croquettes with huancaína sauce, and nachos with beans and guacamole are available, which you might follow with an entrée such as spaghetti tapenade.

Fecha de Publicación: 23/09/2014