Ceviche, lomo saltado, causa limeña—Peruvian food is famous for its bold flavors and melting-pot dishes that draw from African, Asian, and European cuisines. But whether you’re holed up in a fishing village on the Pacific coast or dining atop a jagged peak of the Andes, you’ll find culinary through-lines in a handful of pantry mainstays that define Peruvian cuisine: distinctive chiles, pulses, tubers, and more.
The backbone of all Latin American cuisines from the Rio Grande to the southern tip of Chile, corn is the ultimate life-sustaining crop. Its husks swaddle tamales in Mexico and beyond, while its silks are steeped to make a medicinal brew. Corn kernels rich in vitamins and antioxidants can be sliced off the cob and cooked, or dried and milled into meal as the base of countless national dishes, from tacos to pozole to pupusas.