Gonzalo Pajares Cruzado

Journalist. He writes for the websites La Mula and Living y Perú, and collaborates with Peruvian and international media on issues of Culture and Gastronomy.

No Peruvianness without sanguchón

Peruvians are sangucheros, so sanguchero that we can’t imagine bread with “soledad”(loneliness). In the mornings, on the street corners of almost every neighbourhood, especially the most popular ones, there is always a sanguchón cart that keeps us away from hunger and malnutrition. When the economy is tight, the sánguche is sweet potato or fried egg,… Read More »

Salsa criolla

The “very Peruvian” Salsa criolla is a conjunction of intensities. Only someone very daring, adventurous and mestizo – like the Peruvian – could come up with such a mixture of ingredients that are not exactly delicate: onion, chilli, lemon and salt. However, behind such daring there is wisdom and sybaritism, not only a play of… Read More »

Pan con chicharrón

Pork, a glorious animal from which everything is made use of. Pork, historical animal that, although brought by the Spaniards, became a mestizo in our cuisine. Pork, the delicious animal from which chicharrón is made. Our multicultural spirit has contributed to its glory: the Spanish conquistadors brought it from Europe. The indigenous people raised it,… Read More »

Jamón del país

Pork, always pork. If a flood came and we had to save an animal, it would be the pig. We eat everything from it: its meat, its insides, its skin… even its feet. It is always delicious. One of its peaks is when it is turned into country ham. Gastronomic historians claim that it was… Read More »

Pan con aceituna

More than “carretilla”, bread with olives and “salsa criolla” is more typical of a tavern, of those old, beautiful and traditional bars in Lima where people ate as much as they drank. That is why, when we think of “pan con aceituna y criolla”, we think of emblematic places like the “Bar Carbone”, in the… Read More »