The Fire of Peru: Recipes and Stories from My Peruvian Kitchen

This beautiful cookbook (276 pages) was published in October of 2015 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The book takes you to Peru. Melissa read The Fire of Peru and loved it; it wouldn't be on our site if she didn't recommend it.

amazon
buy
bookshop.org
buy

Bookshop.org is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and give back to the book community.

rule

The Fire of Peru

Recipes and Stories from My Peruvian Kitchen

Ricardo Zarate, Jenn Garbee

Ricardo Zarate has been called ‘the godfather of Peruvian cuisine’ with good reason. A graduate of culinary colleges in both Lima and London, he’s established restaurants in LA and Las Vegas that celebrate Peru’s irresistible combination of South American ingredients with international influences.

Zarate grew up in Lima’s oldest district in a large Catholic family with 13 kids. It was a family tradition for the elder siblings to help the younger get established in life. When his turn arrived, Zarate’s older brothers and sisters sent him to culinary school in Lima and later to London’s Westminster Culinary College. Although his first job was as a dishwasher in an outpost of Benihana, he soon worked his way up to the hibachi — and then to Los Angeles, where he opened his first Peruvian restaurant: a lunch stand in a Hispanic market.

All of which inspired and influenced Zarate’s recipes. From classics like ceviche and lomo saltado (beef stir-fry) to creative recipes like Peruvian-style sushi and an irresistible Peruvian burger (made spicy and luscious with chile peppers, avocado, amarillo-pepper-yogurt sauce, and quick-pickled cucumbers), Zarate’s recipes are bright, bold, and easy to make at home.

The scene is set with beautiful photos of the food, people, and scenery of Peru. What makes this book a real stand-out is the headnotes that introduce each recipe and the informative sidebars sprinkled throughout. Zarate is a wonderful storyteller, and he packs charming details and helpful how-to tips in his notes. You, too, will want to hang out with his Uncle Lucio or learn to slice tuna sashimi-style at Zarate’s side.

From starters to desserts and cocktails, this book has everything you need to bring the tastes of Peru into your home kitchen. So pour a pisco sour, pop some Andean corn, and maybe even spin an Yma Sumac tune on the hi-fi.

My uncle Lucio on my mom’s side of the family was from the mountains, a man of pure Incan blood. In addition to Spanish, he spoke Quechua, the traditional language, and looked like a living Ekeko good luck charm, from his chiquito stature right down to his yankees, traditional shoes made from old tires. Mi tío never wavered from tradition, even when it came to snacks, and would only pop his maíz chulpe (large-kernel corn) straight up. In the Andes, herders stash the dried and toasted kernels in their packs as fuel for treks up the mountainside, and restaurants all over Peru serve the crunchy corn before a meal or as the traditional side for ceviche. — Ricardo Zarate

keep reading

Dare you to not be enchanted by all that Peru has to offer. Friendly people, Incan ruins perched on mist-shrouded mountaintops, irresistible fusion cuisine, beaches and jungles and colonial architecture. And llamas.
A cup of tea is the classic pairing with a great book. But you can level up your reading experience with a crunchy snack, a sweet treat, or a comforting bowl of soup. If there's cinnamon involved, it's all the better.
Forget corn chips and margaritas! We're about to upgrade your snack time with irresistibly crunchy-salty corn from Peru, washed down with a tangy, zingy pisco sour. This is snacking, Peruvian-style. Cheers to you!
With adorable alpacas, astonishing Inca ruins, and irresistible cuisine, Peru is a wonderland for travelers. In this episode, we dig into history and culture, then recommend great books for your armchair travel.

sharing is caring!

Wanna help us spread the word? If you like this page, please share with your friends.

our mission

Strong Sense of Place is a website and podcast dedicated to literary travel and books we love. Reading good books increases empathy. Empathy is good for all of us and the amazing world we inhabit.

our patreon

Strong Sense of Place is a listener-supported podcast. If you like the work we do, you can help make it happen by joining our Patreon! That'll unlock bonus content for you, too — including Mel's secret book reviews and Dave's behind-the-scenes notes for the latest Two Truths and a Lie.

get our newsletter
We'll never share your email with anyone else. Promise.

This is a weekly email. If you'd like a quick alert whenever we update our blog, subscribe here.

no spoilers. ever.

We'll share enough detail to help you decide if a book is for you, but we'll never ruin plot twists or give away the ending.

super-cool reading fun
reading atlas

This 30-page Reading Atlas takes you around the world with dozens of excellent books and gorgeous travel photos. Get your free copy when you subscribe to our newsletter.

get our newsletter
We'll never share your email with anyone else. Promise.
follow us

Content on this site is ©2024 by Smudge Publishing, unless otherwise noted. Peace be with you, person who reads the small type.