As I mentioned a couple of posts ago when we visited the Molino market there was a whole section devoted to food and produce.  Since Ricardo, our Spanish teacher, was along I took advantage of his local knowledge and was quizzing him about some of the odds and ends that I saw in the stalls but did not recognize.   One of the biggest mysteries to me was a grey flat item that had a folded, mottled texture.  I usually saw this item near meat and animal products but I had no idea what it was.   So as we passed some of this mystery food during our tour of Molino I asked Ricardo about it.  It turns out that the unknown substance is dried salted animal skin, usually from a cow but it can also be that of a pig or a sheep.  The drying and salting preserves it and  thus it keeps for years (he said).  It is usually used in soups since it requires quite a lot of soaking to soften it up.  (I have not knowingly eaten any of it.)  The color and texture is quite off-putting but it seems like a practical food for those who do not have refrigerators to keep their food fresh.

Dried animal skin. I have no idea from what animal. Used in soups.

Cusco is an inland city, distant from the coast in miles and logistics, so seafood is not a common component of the local cuisine, but they make the most of the local lakes and rivers.  The produce displayed from the local waterways looked like they could have come from the sea. This included fish roe and an algae that looked like a seaweed as well as some types of shellfish.

The butcher aisle was very interesting with all kinds of parts from all kinds of animals on display.  Sometimes the heads were included as part of the display at the stall in order for people to easily identify the animal that was for sale.  You could literally buy any part of any animal.

Lamb parts for sale.

I was told this is a fish roe from a local fresh water fish.

Some kind of fish roe.

Peru has thousands of different kinds of potatoes and they all have a specific color, size, taste and means of preparation.  It is not unusual to have more than one type served at a meal, each cooked differently.  One of the other unique items in the region is the blue corn from which all kinds of different things are made including deserts and the purple drink, chicha morada, which I have tasted and described in a previous post.  Another local speciality corn is the large grained white corn from which the tamales are made (very good!).  In addition boiled white corn with cheese is sold on the street and is supposed to be very good although I have yet to taste it.
At the market we also stopped at a booth where all kinds of medicinal plants and herbs were available.  Ricardo showed us a few of them while explaining their uses.  I understood that some of this lore is common knowledge and not as esoteric as it is in the US.

Many types of potatoes can be found at the markets.

Medicinal plants for sale.

Marinated and grilled heart of beef. A local speciality. It was very tender and tasty.

On another food related note, Friday night a group of us went out to celebrate Ricardo’s last day as a Spanish teacher at Maximo.  He is opening his own language school and project in two weeks. About six of us who were his students joined him at a Peruvian restaurant.  I decided to try another regional speciality, the kebab of beef heart.  It turned out to be pretty good, the meat having been marinated before being grilled.  Along with the beef heart came another speciality, which I do not know the name of, but was basically a stuffed green pepper.  I am not a big green pepper fan, but this dish was fantastic.  The stuffing was a spicy meat and vegetable mixture and then the whole thing had been fried.  Very tasty!

A close up of the stuffed green pepper that came with the heart. The stuffing was slightly spicy.

The cuy (or guinea pig) that the guys ordered at the table next to us. I thought the presentation was cute so I took a quick picture (after asking permission). I have not tasted this yet.

While we were at the restaurant a couple of guys next to us had ordered cuy (or guinea pig).  I could not help myself and asked them if I could take a picture of their meal.  The way the dish was served was so unique that I wanted to capture it.  They did not mind so the picture is attached.  I have not tasted this dish yet but am told that there is not a lot of meat on them since they are so small, and therefore a bit difficult to eat.

The squeaky cheese meal. It was fried and was quite good besides the distracting squeaking noise while chewing.

I also wanted to show you the dish I had for lunch at Lake Titicaca with the squeaky cheese.  It was tasty but a bit weird to eat.  Also the trout, which was very fresh and beautifully prepared, was a highlight of that trip.

A very nice piece of lemon pie with lots of meringue.

Here is a piece of lemon pie that I had. It was more like a lemon tart in it’s consistency and taste but had a huge stack of meringue on top.  I liked both the texture and the flavor.  I am still in tres leches tasting mode and today tried a chocolate one.  It was good but I have not yet found a winner in my search for the best tres leches!

I am off to Lima on Thursday and will try to post from there.  I return to Cusco on Sunday.