SG: Well, I think you definitely have to go try some of the trendy restaurants so you can see what the novel chefs are making at… Definitely have to go Gaston Acurio’s place also, because he’s been, I think, the greatest ambassador to Peruvian food. But don’t miss the market, don’t miss the, the museum, such as the potato museum, because you’ll see how the history-
LA: Wait. Tell me about the potato museum. [laughs]
SG: There’s a potato museum where you can actually go and see all 3,000 kinds of potatoes and the history and the colors, and everything in the museum is just fascinating.
LA: What is your favorite dish out of the book to cook and which is your favorite one to eat? ‘Cause they could be two different things.
SG: That is like asking me who is my favorite child.
LA: [laughs]
SG: And it’s, it’s very, very difficult. I can tell you that, for me, the recipes that mean the most are those that I got from my grandmother. And that would be the case for any Latin American who would find any comforting dish in the book that reminds them of something they’ve had in their past. And that is because food has the power, and I don’t think there’s any other creative outlet that does the same, the power to bring somebody back or a moment back in time, even when they’re long gone. We can look at a painting and see a landscape and the way that it was from a moment in time in that painter’s eyes. But we cannot bring back the feeling, the love, the, in in so many captions, and the person almost back. It’s almost as if you have that person sitting next to you. So for me, it’s the comfort dishes in the book that mean the most when I eat them.
Uh, now cooking for it, there are some that are… I love to cook them and serve them because they’re very shocking to people when they try them. And they’re think they’re so… But man, they’re so easy to make. One of them is the Chilean pasta con palta, which is a, an avocado sauce that you toss with linguini. It looks like pesto. It looks, it, it feels, in your tongue, like a Alfredo creamy sauce. And it’s made with avocados. It’s just amazing. And people think avocado and pasta, but it goes great. And it’s traditional.
Or another one that I love is the Peruvian causa. Causa is a layered potato salad. Because it looks like you had an artist put it together by the way you layer it. And it’s the easiest thing to do. All you need is an, a tuna can opened in both direction, you know, and just layer the salad through a can, and then lift the can off, and you’ve got a beautiful layered salad. And people just think it’s, wow, fantastic. So those are two things that I like to cook for show. But they’re super easy, super inexpensive. Um, the ingredients, you find them anywhere. And there just fun. And they’re, they start really good conversation.
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
LA: You’ve made me so excited for my trip to Peru next year. Um-
SG: I wanna come with you, ’cause I missed mine.
LA: Oh, I know. I’m gonna eat-
SG: [laughs]
LA: … so well. But this has been such a pleasure.
SG: Thank you.
LA: So thank you so much.
Next week, the mystery of the ocean floor, a mammoth mapping project, submersibles, shipwrecks, and more. I’m Lale Arikoglu, and you can find me on Instagram @Lalehannah. Our engineer is Jake Lummus. The show’s mixed by Amar Lal. Jude Kampfner from Corporation for Independent Media is our producer. See you next week.
