Sky Kitchen Peruvian Cooking Class

Day 2: Sky Kitchen

Several years ago I edited a family cookbook, including recipes dating back several centuries.  I wrote in the introduction that cooking old family recipes allows us to not just learn about our ancestors but to experience something with them though we are separated by time.  We taste that they tasted and smell the aromas that filled their kitchens. 

In a similar way I have a desire to grow closer to Peru and experience the cuisine, not simpy to eat it but to learn to prepare it.  I want to be able to cook what those I love think of as home cooking.  Saturday I had a wonderful afternoon doing just that at Sky Kitchen in Miraflores.  These small cooking classes are held in an open air kitchen on the roof deck of Chef Yurac Romero.  Two thirds of it is covered in fabric, offering shade from the intense Lima sun, from the open end of the deck there are beautiful views of the surrounding neighborhood.  I highly recommend this cultural experience for anyone traveling in Lima. 

Along with two other American women who are traveling through Peru on a tour, I learned to make Papa a la Huancaina, Cebiche and Aji de Gallina.  Chef Yurac speaks German and Spanish mainly, so his partner Christian Trübswetter translates as he demonstrates for us. We all follow suit.  As each dish is prepared we sit at a beautifully decorated table filled with gorgeous imported (from Ikea!) orchids and enjoy our creations.  I cannot get past the fact that cebiche is raw fish in lime juice, so I pretty much steered clear of that one.

Papa is the Peruvian word for potato.  Huancaina refers to the women of Huancayo.   Papa a la Huancaina is a dish of cold, peeled and thickly sliced potatoes covered in an aji amarillo pepper and cheese sauce.  It is served with an olive and quarter of a hardboiled egg on top.  Many dishes are garnished in this fashion. 

Next came the cebiche.  Chef Yurac buys the fish fresh just before class each time.  It is a quickly prepared dish and is particularly popular on the hottest days.  I learned that originally this was a dish of the people as fish was an inexpensive protein.  In recent years fish has increasingly been exported and the prices have risen significantly.  As a result this is now more of a treat for most people.  Chicken has become the protein of choice at the average dinner table.

Finally we prepared Aji de Gallina.  Aji is the favorite local pepper used in many dishes and served as a paste condiment at every table, alongside ketchup and mayonnaise.  A single chicken breast is stretched to serve at least four.  It is cooked and finely shredded and mixed with the aji sauce of onions garlic, pureed bread, stock, pecans and parmesan cheese.  Like the others it was served with potatoes.  This dish also had dried roasted maize and fresh maize.  I am told it is often garnished with a quarter of a hardboiled egg and one olive.  The corn here has the most amazing, huge kernels.  I loved this dish and it was a wonderful way to end the class. 

Within a couple hours of returning to the hotel I received an email with all the recipes.  I look forward to preparing these again.  For additional information about SkyKitchen please visit www.wix.com/skykitchen/peru.    They offer classes in English, Spanish and German, both lunch and dinner menus. 

Chef Yurac sets me to work at the stove. 

The beginnings of the Papa a la Huancaina sauce, aji, garlic and onions.

Lime juice is added under Chef΄s watchful eye.

The potoatoes are completely covered in sauce and garnishes added.
There are over 3,000 varieties of potato in Peru.

Papa a la Huancaina is complete. 

Christian Trubswetter and I enjoy the first dish. 

The most delicious corn.

Finishing touches to the cebiche. 



Aji de Gallina (Aji Pepper Hen)

The Lost Brush

Day 1: The Saga of the Lost Brush

Life was quite hectic in the days leading up to this last trip.  But I had planned out what I was going to take and had everything ready to go into the suitcases.  It was organized.  Packing was going to be a breeze.  Then, as they say, life got in the way of the plans I made.  I ending up packing in a very short period of time, trying to get everything in, including gifts and must have requests from those I visit, and remain under the weight limit.  It was a challenge but I did eventually manage to fit all the shoes I wanted to bring.  I went over everything.  There was nothing missing, right?  It all made it into my new patent red suitcases equipped with organizational accessories.

Fast forward to the morning after my late night flight that came in even later in the night.  My brush and comb have gone missing. Apparently they did not want to travel to Lima this time and must have jumped out of the suitcase on their own.  No matter how casual you try to be, a brush is an important item when one is preparing to walk out of a hotel and down the street.  And, I am not a particularly casual person, so there was a moment of panic. 

Mind you, I am on my own during the day and my Spanish leaves much to be desired (I can order garlic bread, but don’t ask me to do much else).  Heading out on a shopping trip was a tiny bit daunting.  My hair back in the best little ponytail I could muster, I walked down to the front desk.  Perhaps they know where I could purchase one nearby.  Ripley’s was the answer.  It is a medium size department store near the hotel.  I have learned over my visits that Ripley΄s is usually the answer given when asking where to purchase something.  It is a nice store, with items on offer from bathing suits to computers, refrigerators to colanders.  But it does not have as much as people seem to think it does.  I walked the few blocks to the store and after a confused exchange with the greeter I was directed to the third floor.  In a locked cabinet, next to a very nice sofa and across from a cute pink cake plate, I found every type of plug in grooming implement imaginable.  But alas nothing as simple as a brush or comb. 

Leaving the department store I saw the grocery store Metro.  They had a long aisle of shampoos and conditioners, but no implements.  CVS, Walgreens, even Publix has brushes you can buy.  Why is this so hard to find? I know they are used here.  The people all look well groomed. 

As I walked back towards my hotel I spotted a salon across the street with a window display of brushes, combs, shampoos, etc.  Yes, go to the source.  If you want fruit go to a fruit stand, if you want a brush, go to a hair salon.  It is a cute little place with a single chair.  A lady was getting her hair styled by one woman and her nails done by another.  Hablas ingles? No. Time to play charades.  We eventually worked it out.  I left there with a nice bamboo brush and matching comb, along with a boost in my confidence, all for a mere 18 soles, about $7 US.  You can’t beat that!

Welcome!

Lima, Peru.  A few years ago all I knew about Peru was that Paddington Bear and his Aunt Lucy were from Peru, and that Pizarro conquered the Incas.  I remember that from a sixth grade history project about the explorers and I chose Pizarro.  Now I am learning more about the country of Peru and the city of Lima in particular.  My heart brings me here. 

This is my third trip.  Eventually I will be moving here and making Lima home, for at least a while.  It can be difficult to find much information about Lima online, other than lists of the same few tourists’ attractions.  They are all worth seeing, but there is much more to the city than these. 

Therefore I am starting this blog.  I will share my stories, my experiences here.  It will be a way to give family and friends a glimpse into life in Lima and perhaps others who are considering a trip or move a little more information than they had before.