I’ve spent most of my life surrounded by multicultural communities and people when I was in Uganda, where I was born, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Alabama, Chicago, South Africa, Virginia New Jersey and New York and constantly being exposed to new cultures, traditions and foods, so much so that I realize that I take most of the cultural traditions and customs for granted and forget that most people haven’t been exposed to the same multicultural influences.
Therefore, each week I hope to share new cultural traditions as a way to inspire others to share and embrace their cultural heritage and to offer modern multicultural, interracial, intercultural, fusion couples wedding inspiration and ideas on ways to incorporate tradition and culture into their wedding. The inspiration comes from past weddings I’ve hot, amazing wedding planners and designers and/or styled shoots.
This week, I’m featuring Peruvian delicacies food styled in a colorful modern styling. Food is one of the easiest ways to share your cultural heritage at a wedding and to educate your guests about your wedding traditions. Check out these popular Peruvian delicacies!
Ceviche de pescado is a popular traditonal food, often spelled “ceviche” in Peru, is the flagship dish of coastal cuisine, and one of the most popular dish among Peruvians. It consists of Andean chili peppers, onions and acidic aromatic lime. A spicy dish, it consists generally of bite-size pieces of white sea bass marinated raw in lime juice mixed with chilis served with raw onions with toasted corn (cancha).
Below is the popular anticuchos de corazón or beef heart traditionally marinated in vinegar, spices, garlic and cumin with papas a la huancaína (Huancayo-style potatoes) or boiled potatoes in a spicy cheese sauce with olives. This is the one dish I couldn’t sample because of my tribal beliefs. My totem is the heart, so I’m not allowed to eat the heart of any animal. I’ll share more about my Ugandan tribal beliefs in another post, but looking at how quickly my Peruvian friends ate up their food, anticuchos are a favorite and would be a big hit among guests.
The anticuchos is served with a side of maize (“Indian” corn). This type of corn found in Peru is not sweet and comes in very large grains and is not as popular beyond Latin America.
Below is a tamale, made from boiled maize corn and chicken and traditionally wrapped in a banana leaf. This tamale was so delicious, beautifully spiced that I couldn’t stop eating it.
