Peru: The Cookbook

I have traveled to over 50 countries and I am definitely a foodie, but Peruvian food is definitely in my top 3 cuisines in the world. When I heard that this book was coming out, I preordered it immediately and I have been not so patiently waiting for its arrival. It didnt disappoint! There are a few things that people want to know about a cookbook , so I will try to cover them. I will start with a few small negatives. While it has never been important to me, there is not a picture for every recipe. But there are variations of different recipes throughout the book so one picture could give the general idea for several recipes. The only negative from my perspective is that the index does not have the name in both English and Spanish. For example, my favorite dish is lomo saltado, but I would have to know to look up beef tenderloin stirfry to find it in the index. But now for the many positives! First, the food looks and sounds amazing. It is true to its Peruvian roots rather than trying to be an Americanized Peruvian. For a chefs cookbook, I was please to find that the ingredient lists were not ridiculously long and the instructions were fairly simple. For the most part, the ingredients are not hard to find. The exceptions would be for some dishes not normally eaten in America, but there are often substitutions provided, or another recipe is provided that is very similar with more common ingredients. For example, I do not like tripe and I dont think I will eat bull testicles. I like that these recipes are there just because it captures the spirit of the cuisine, but there are other possible options. There is also an extensive glossary for unfamiliar ingredients and I love the fact that the measurements are in both imperial and metric measures. All in all this would be my go to book for Peruvian food and the chapter on ceviche and tiraditos is worth the price of the book alone

Just received this cookbook at my doorstep so the following comments are based on the contents of the cookbook and NOT on the actual recipes. I'll get cracking on trying some of these recipes to the T and then update my review. My first impressions: PROS: 1. This cookbook has almost every recipe you will find in your typical Peruvian restaurant in the US. Lomo saltado, arroz con mariscos, arroz con pollo, parihuela, seco de cordero, tacu tacu, chupe de camarones, etc. If you had an amazing dish at a Peruvian restaurant and wondered how they made it, this book might clue you in. 2. If you are familiar with Peruvian food, then you probably love all the random sauces they present to you. This book has a lot of them like creme de rocoto (red sauce), haucatay sauce (the infamous green sauce), Tiger's Milks, etc. Might be worth the price of admission for this section itself. 3. There are a lot of variations of dishes including Japanese variations. Maybe you are in the mood for traditional parihuela soup (ciopinno type of soup). This book has that version and a Japanese version of it along with different versions of chifa fried rice and saltados for example. CONS: 1. This cookbook may not be the best suited cookbook for people who can't source Peruvian ingredients like aji amarillo (yellow chilli), aji panca, chicha de jora very easily as most of the recipes call for Peruvian ingredients. Some of the ingredients are not well translated. For instance the book references yellow chillis which might cause some confusion if you didn't know the author meant specifically aji amarillo yellow chillis. It's best you have some experience cooking Peruvian food or familiar with the ingredients (hint: google it). 2. Navigating the cookbook and finding the Spanish name for a recipe is a little cumbersome. For instance, maybe you heard of lomo saltado but wasn't sure what it is (chinese-influenced stir-fry with beef). The index goes mainly by the ingredient so you would have to look under beef - beef tenderloin stir fry to find the page. 3. Quality of the book is average. Paper used is not of the highest quality and while the pictures of the food look amazingly delicious, there is a guesstimate of 1 picture for every 4 dishes (not including sauces, drinks, etc). I guess with 500 recipes, that isn't too shabby.

NEW version Ask anybody born in Peru or any Peruvian living abroad: “Who is Gaston Acurio?” and they will tell you he is the most famous Peruvian Chef. If you review what world renowned chefs such as Alain Ducasse, Ferran Adria and Joan Roca they will describe Gaston as a media personality, writer, promoter of Peruvian culture, social activist and successful global entrepreneur (Gaston has restaurants in Europe, Asia and through all the Americas). He is an inspiration to home cooks, chefs and restaurateurs around the world (including me). While he has written many books, “PERU” is the first published in English and available in USA on amazon.com and local book shops. This book contains what we Peruvians eat every day at home and local restaurants. "PERU" includes most traditional recipes and their steps to prepare them from scratch. It is written in English and while Peruvians will like this book, it aims also to the other 98% non Peruvians living in USA that may not be familiar with Peruvian cuisine but will not regret giving it a try!. While Peru is currently part of the top 5 culinary destination of the world, this book will not disappoint and will provide readers a good insight and instructions on how to prepare typical and delicious meals here! Book price is spot on when comparing quality of paper/images to similar other American - published cookbooks. Very cool cover!

This is just a really cool and well put together book giving your an insight into the cuisine. Looks great. Functional but easy act as a coffee table type book as well

This book is a bargain, the recipes look fantastic and the quality of the product is a great value. Hundreds of recipes.

Large variety. The only drawback is that it can be hard to find key ingredients, like aji amarillo, which you can't substitute without affecting the authentic flavor. In that case, Amazon to the rescue.

Sencillamente hermoso, buena calidad, imágenes muy bien ilustradas, buen tamaño, definitivamente vale la pena

Peruvian food is a mix of European/Spanish cuisine, South American, Chinese and Japanese cuisine making it one of the best in the world. This book is a good example of how good and creative this cuisine is. Great inspiration for the housewives and chefs alike.

Znalazłam tu dużo dobrych przepisów, na prawdę warto mieć tę książkę, szczególnie jak jest się fanem kuchni peruwiańskiej. Jedyny minus to może jest aż za dużo przepisów i łatwo się pogubić z wyborem.

Me encanto!, lo pedí en ingles por error, y aun traducido es excelente, si tuviera que añadir algo por fuerza sería ampliar el glosario de ingredientes peruanos, mucha gente confunde los ingredientes porque con la traducción pierde identidad, ejemplo ají amarillo, en traducción seria yellow chilli, si una persona ajena a nuestra cultura fuera a buscarlo posiblemente regresaría con algo que no es ají amarillo peruano, ya que existen muchos tipos de chile amarillo en el mundo. Tambien como persona que ha vivido mucho en la amzonía he extrañado muchos platos de mi tierra y de la selva peruana en general.

Un'ottima idea quella della Phaidon di affidare la cura di un libro sulla cucina peruviana a Gaston Acurio, chef di fama internazionale. Il libro è, come tutti quelli di questa casa editrice, assai curato nel design e nell'estetica; cavalca l'onda di una cucina latinoamericana negli ultimi anni sempre sulla cresta, capace di conquistarsi credibilità e mercati con i suoi grandi chef, abili e creativi. Ma come già per la cucina caraibica, quella peruviana ha una marcia in più in partenza, frutto della mescolanza di tradizioni culturali assai diverse fin dalle sue origini. In questa terra si sono fuse la cucina cinese e quella giapponese, quella autoctona e quella italiana (grazie agli immigrati genovesi che approdarono nei suoi porti), quella africana e quella del mondo arabo. Un bel mix e un bell'insieme di prodotti, che continua a ruotare principalmente attorno alla pesca (ceviche e carpacci di mare su tutto), e ai prodotti della terra americana (patate, mais, peperoncini, l'incredibile frutta). Le ricette proposte hanno tutte un'impostazione elementare e sono assai accessibili, fatto salvo per alcuni prodotti locali (di cui viene suggerita o è intuibile la sostituzione).

Amazing decor Book, Im from Peru living in Australia, so having this book in English is great to have friends reading it. Also the looks is so aesthetic to decor the living room