Peru - No Marmalade Sandwiches

Wari Wooden Death Mask, Pachacamac - Photo © Rob Jones

I can honestly say that beyond knowing that it was very far away, and home to the fictitious (I assume) Paddington Bear, I had zero preconceptions of Peru.

It’s up there with Timbuctoo, Ouagadougou, and Ulaanbaatar as places I should like to visit and be able to spell, one day.

So, was very excited to get a suggestion from my friend Julian, who was travelling the world and seeking company on various sections of the route to go to Peru.

The cunning plan was for us - me and our friend Ronke - to rendezvous with Julian in Lima, and then to meet up with Father Simon. All four of us met on a post-grad radio journalism course in the now very dim and distant past.

And so it came to pass.

A whistlestop ten days in Peru - with plans to experience as many of the sights, sounds and tastes as we could, drop in on Father Simon in his parish, head up to Cusco and down into Machu Pichu.

Julian was already ‘en pointe’ by the time we got there, the worse for wear after a long and desiccating flight to Lima via Miami. He was ensconced in the Lima suburb of Miraflores, which on first sight looked a bit like Llandudno. I stifled a little disappointment.

Miraflores looked a bit like Llandudno - Photo © Rob Jones

Julian had sussed out the best thing to do on arrival, and indeed in any situation, was to drink Pisco Sours.

There doesn’t seem to be a set recipe for it - there are many variants, probably according to bartenders’ and customers’ choice.

Here’s one:

50ml Pisco Acholado (which is a type of Brandy. Not easy to find in the UK, but available for order online.)
1 egg white
3 drops of Angustura or Peruvian chuncho bitters.

For the sour part of the equation:

30ml lime juice
20ml sugar syrup

So - either put everything in a blender, or fill a shaker with ice. Needs to be really well mixed.

Carefully hold back the froth while you pour it into chilled glasses.

Serve with 3 drops of bitters, blobbed on top.

Photo © Rob Jones

It was much enjoyed through the holiday, especially after one particularly vigorous taxi ride from Villa el Salvador back into the centre of Lima, which left us all visible shaken (almost as much as the Pisco Sour.)

RJ