Peruvian Food 2 - Quinoa, corn, alpaca

Urubamba in the Sacred Valley is where many tourists come to acclimatize to the high altitude.  It's a few thousand feet below Cuzco and only an hour away.  And since we were supposed to take it easy the first day of arrival at high altitude, we didn't do much other than eat that day - perfectly fine with me.  We had a buffet lunch outdoors in a gazebo in a very nice restaurant with its own llamas, alpacas and some very colourful macaws.  Dinner was at an even nicer restaurant in the Aranwa Sacred Valley hotel.  Here are some of the very Peruvian food we ate.

Quinoa is an important Peruvian staple.  Here it is served cold in a mold with peas, carrots and peppers mixed in.  Delicious!

This looks and tastes like spinach pastry

We were supposed to eat light the first day - this is all I allowed myself for lunch.  You can see the large roasted corn kernels and the sweet potato (almost at every meal).  Avocado is in abundance and in many combinations.  Here (on the right) it is served with tuna between mashed potatoes, in a traditional dish called causa - very tasty.  (I didn't take pictures of the desserts)

Outdoor restaurant

The one in front is the alpaca

Dinner is at the Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel

This is the "cream of the day" and unfailingly pumpkin (for the rest of the trip)!   Quite a contrast from "Grandma's pumpkin soup" we had in Lima, with a much more delicate flavour.

This is a Napoleon "crunchy ham tartar alpaca" with avocado and cilantro.  Our guide assured us that it is not raw so I had alpaca for both first and main.  You can't really taste the alpaca in this Napoleon but it was an interesting combination of textures.

And here is my first (and best) alpaca, loin done medium - my favourite Peruvian food.   For me, the texture and taste is a cross between beef and pork tenderloin.