Arroz y papas, papas y arroz!

So... Peruvian food! I could have shared my thoughts on this a few weeks ago, but I was waiting to sample even more before I wrote about it. Just to be thorough, I have been eating a lot. All in the name of discovering the most I can about the culture!

The standard body shape here in Peru seems to be short, and without sounding too mean, fat. Well, not exactly fat but 90% of people here have a paunch. We have decided that this is due to the fact that with every meal they serve rice and chips. Together. Plus whatever else you have ordered. They also do not seem to be too big on vegetables here, so the standard diet is potatoes, rice, more potatoes, fish or meat!

Here in Trujillo we volunteers get all our meals provided. There are two family-run restaurants very close to our apartment, which have an arrangement with Bruce Peru, so we just go in and order whatever is available on the menu. Lunchtime is two courses, and dinner is one. A usual lunch is soup, followed by rice and chicken and beans. The soup often comes with different body parts of a chicken floating in it, but is very tasty. A good day you recognise a chicken foot, a bad day you know (hope) it is some part of a chicken, but you can't be sure!

Another favourite on the menu is aji de gallina. I still haven't figured out what this is exactly, if I take a picture it looks horrible, as does the images that a google search brings up. But it tastes good - a layer of potatoes covered in a yellow(ish) sauce with chicken it... you will all have to come to Peru to try it, as my description does not make it sound appetising. In my defense, I don't know how else you could describe it, as that is exactly how it looks!

Dinner time is from seven every night, and the standard favourite for all of us is lomo saltado - pieces of beef stir-fried with tomatoes and onions in  sauce, served with potatoes and rice. At the restaurant downstairs the couple laugh at the girls for asking for it with either potatoes or rice, but not both - I think they think we are all very fussy. But it is very delicious, and it is also possible to eat it everynight without getting fed up! There was one guy who stayed here a year, and still loved it, so it is not just me! Everything here comes with a sauce called aji - a spicy relish that makes everything taste even better. They have different types of aji for different types of food, and some are spicier than others, but I think it is my favourite food here in Peru!

Of course, as we are by the coast, there is a lot of seafood here too, and I have eaten lots of ceviche which is raw fish and seafood marinated in lime juice and chillies. It is really delicious, although I was a bit scared the first time I ate it, as getting sick from raw fish in Peru was an experience I wanted to avoid! The other favourite here is a parrilla - a plate of different types of meat served on a metal plate, with burning coals underneath cooking it all. I have even had anticuchos (cow hearts) and surprised myself by liking it! Of course, this all comes served with papas - I will go to the gym when I am back in London...