Photo story: the historic diners of Arequipa, Peru
With a heritage stretching back centuries, the picanterías of Peru’s second-largest city dish up delicious portions of traditional comfort food every lunchtime.
At picantería La Benita de los Claustros, try this refreshing cold infusion of native medicinal herbs, topped with the Peruvian groundcherry.
Chef Humberto Alanoca prepares food at Picantería La Lucila. Here the chefs work in a typical Arequipeñan kitchen that’s changed very little since the late 19th century. All the dishes are cooked on a traditional wood-fired oven.
Lunchtime at La Nueva Palomino, one of the most popular picanterías in town, boisterous with family groups even during the week. Traditional picanterías are concerned only with lunch; they open at noon and keep feeding hungry guests until they run out of food at around 4-5 pm. Everything is prepared from scratch in the morning, so for a full selection of dishes, come early.
Panceta de lechón al horno, roasted suckling pig belly, served with pastel de papa, a typical side dish of sliced potatoes baked in a mixture of milk and cheese. La Nueva Palomino is renowned for its homemade chicha de guiñapo, a refreshing fermented drink made with a local variety of purple corn. Chicha has been brewed since pre-Inca times and was used in rituals and ceremonies in the Inca Empire.
Arequipa’s city centre is full of baroque buildings carved from white sillar stone. Wandering around the streets of ‘Ciudad Blanca’ is one of the best ways to build up an appetite before heading to a picantería for some fermented chicha and a plentiful meal.
Claustros de La Compañía, an exquisitely preserved 18th-century cloister, converted into an elegant complex of alpaca-wool shops and chic cafes. Ornate sillar columns lead to La Benita de los Claustros, a modern take on a traditional picantería, open all day and offering an English menu. The establishment was opened by Roger Falcón Quicaño, who spent his childhood watching his mother, Benita Quicaño Guillén, cook at the family’s restaurant in the district of Characato.
Morning prep at Picantería La Lucila, away from the city centre in the district of Sachaca. Adela Cama is on grinding duty, using a heavy stone pestle to crush garlic cloves with salt and cumin seeds for a fragrant seasoning. The founder of the establishment, Lucila Salas Valencia, was born at the very same house where the restaurant now operates. She learned how to make traditional Arequipeñan fare from her mother and passed the knowledge on to her daughters, who now continue the family tradition.
A classic Arequipeñan feast at Picantería La Lucila. It includes rocotos rellenos, one of the most famous local dishes, comprising spicy rocoto peppers stuffed with minced meat and baked with cheese and served with pastel de papa. This is accompanied by cancha, a snack of toasted choclo, Andean large-kernel corn, served with a spicy sauce. There’s also Ocopa Arequipeña — boiled Peruvian potato topped with a spicy sauce made from aji amarillo (a Peruvian yellow chilli pepper) and huacatay (a native herb with small flowers), served with purple Peruvian olives and queso frito (deep-fried chunks of local cheese).
Service with a smile at Victoria Picantería Democratica.
Queso helado — this homemade cinnamon-spiced ice cream is a typical way to finish a hearty meal at a picantería. Arequipeñan ice cream contains no cream (or cheese) and is made of three kinds of milk: whole milk, sweet condensed milk and evaporated milk. Here, at Victoria Picantería Democratica, it’s served with Inca berries and a flaming cinnamon stick.