AP PHOTOS: Bolivian street food finds its place at the fine dining table

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From the world’s highest speedable lake, Titicaca, comes a culinary treasure: brittle skin fish, cooked in a hot copper pan and served with Andese cooked wheat and dehydrated potatoes in traditional clay dishes.

It is a signature dish by chef Dennis Llusco in La Rufina, a restaurant in the Bolivian capital, La Paz, who was recently praised by the British organization 50 best discovery as one of the world’s best restaurants.

“La Rufina started as a very small kitchen,” said the 30-year-old chef, a native of the Lake Titicaca region. “We never dreamed of having two places or being included in the 50 best discovery list.”

Llusco is one of a growing wave of Latin American chefs that draws inspiration from their roots, elevating the humble street food from Bolivia to Haute Kitchen.

By La Rufina, which was opened in 2021, is like taking a journey through the Bolivian traditions. Diners can mix with cholitas – indigenous women who wear the traditional, multi -layer Andes and black hats – and taste the flavors of street corners and markets.

The menu highlights local favorites, such as the baked potato filled with savory mince stove, a La Paz stack food in the city center. Another signature dish prepared by Llusco is ‘Anticucho’, a popular Peruvian street food dish of roasted beef heart fillets, served with potatoes and yellow chili pepper sauce.

Chef and food researcher Marko Bonifaz said Bolivia is working on an interesting movement involving the integration of Haute Kitchen with street food, and it is no longer an attractive option for tourists, but for Bolivians themselves.

Llusco’s kitchen, deeply rooted in the doctrine of her mother and aunt, who sold food in the streets of Bolivia, personifies this movement.

“These simple dishes connect us to our culture again,” she said. “They make me very happy.”

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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