Novoandina facts for kids

Novoandina is a modern style of cuisine from Peru and other Andean countries. It mixes new cooking styles with traditional ingredients from the Andes and Peruvian cuisine. It's like taking ancient foods and making them exciting and new!

History of Novoandina Cuisine

The idea for novoandina cuisine started with a dish called La gran olla Huacachina (The Great Huacachina Pot). This dish was created by a chef named Bernardo Roca Rey in 1986. He made it after a cooking challenge at Huacachina lake, where he had to invent a meal using ingredients he found at a local market in Ica. This challenge helped kick off the novoandina cooking style.

Special Ingredients and Recipes

Novoandina cuisine uses many unique ingredients that come from the Andes mountains and other parts of Peru. These include:

• Achira
• Arracacha
• Quinoa
• Mashua
• Maca
• Yacon
• Special Andean potatoes
• Ulluku
• Oca
• Llama meat
• Andean peppers like rocoto and ajies

These ingredients are often combined in new and interesting ways.

Quinotto: Peru's Risotto

Quinotto is a popular novoandina dish. It's Peru's own version of the Italian dish called Risotto. Instead of rice, quinotto uses quinoa, a super healthy grain from the Andes. You can eat it with chicken, shrimp, or other seafood.

Famous chef Gastón Acurio has created many novoandina dishes. Some of his ideas include marinated trout with achira pancakes, and tuna loin with arracacha cream. Achira is a root vegetable from the Amazon rainforest. Ancient cultures like the Chavín, Nazca, and Paracas cultures grew and used it long before the Incas.

Maca: A Superfood in Dishes

Food writer Hirka Roca Rey helped bring novoandina cuisine to the world through her restaurant, Pantagruel. She created dishes like crispy pork with maca sauce. Maca is a root vegetable known for its energy-boosting properties.

Yacón and Red Pepper Flavors

Chef Rafael Piqueras has also made exciting novoandina dishes. He created grilled octopus with yacón dressing and a special seafood dish called ceviche with a foamy yellow pepper sauce. He even presented these dishes in Spain at a big food fair in Madrid.

Coca and Mashua: Traditional Plants

Cucho La Rosa is a chef who created drinks like "coca sour" and "coca and mashua bread." Coca is a traditional plant from the Andes that has been used by local people for centuries. In novoandina cuisine, it's used in small amounts for its unique flavor in certain recipes.

See also

• In Spanish: Gastronomía novoandina para niños