Exploring Bolivia's Culinary Delights: A Foodie's Guide

Bolivian cuisine is heavily influenced by the country's diverse geography and cultural history. The Andean zone, with its cold climate, favours spicy, energy-rich foods, while the eastern zone uses Amazonian products such as bananas, yuca, and corn, as well as preserved and dried meats. The valley area, known for its fertility and variety of products, features dishes with numerous ingredients and a wide range of spices.

Bolivian dishes vary greatly by region, with potatoes favoured in the Andean regions and fruits, vegetables, freshwater fish, and yuca preferred in the lowlands. Here are some popular dishes to try in Bolivia:

- Anticuchos: Grilled skewered beef or chicken hearts served with potatoes and a spicy peanut sauce.

- Salteñas: Baked empanadas filled with a juicy mix of sweet and savoury sauces, beef, pork, or chicken, and other ingredients like peas, eggs, potatoes, and olives.

- Empanadas de Queso: Bolivian version of empanadas with a cheesy centre, typically enjoyed for breakfast or at teatime.

- Pique a lo Macho: A large plate of beef, sausage, boiled eggs, french fries or potatoes, onions, and peppers.

- Fritanga de Cerdo: Well-cooked pork covered in a spicy red sauce with garlic and onions, usually served with corn and dehydrated potatoes.

- Chicharrón de Cerdo: Pork cooked in its own fat and chicha (an alcoholic drink made from corn), served with corn and potatoes.

- Api Morado: A hot drink made with purple corn, cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel, often served with pastel (a fried cheese-filled pastry).

- Sopa de Mani: A soup made with potatoes, ground peanuts, beef, and vegetables like carrots and celery, sometimes served with pasta.

- Kalaphurka: A soup made with chilli, beef or llama, cornflour, and potatoes, served with a hot volcanic stone to keep it boiling.

- Singani Sour: Bolivia's version of the Pisco Sour, made with Singani (a Bolivian brandy) and lemon juice.

- Charquekan: Dried llama meat served with colourful native potatoes, cheese, and boiled eggs.

- Pique Macho: A filling dish of minced meat, chorizo, fried potatoes, tomatoes, and locotos (hot peppers).

- Yuca Sonso: Cassava puree mixed with cheese and grilled for a smoky flavour.

- Humintas: Sweet tamales made with grated sweetcorn, cinnamon, sugar, raisins, and sometimes cheese, steamed or grilled in corn leaves.

Street food: From empanadas to salteñas (baked snacks filled with meat and vegetables), Bolivia has a wide variety of street food

Street food is a must-try when visiting Bolivia, with a wide variety of options to choose from. One of the most iconic street foods in Bolivia is the salteña, a type of baked empanada with a juicy, gelatin-based filling. Salteñas are typically filled with beef, pork, or chicken, mixed with a sweet and slightly spicy sauce containing olives, raisins, potatoes, and sometimes egg. The filling is more liquidy than that of a typical empanada, and the pastry is often shaped like a football with a braided top crust. Salteñas are usually eaten as a mid-morning snack and can be found at street vendors and bakeries across Bolivia, with each region boasting its own variation.

Empanadas are another popular street food in Bolivia, with many varieties to choose from. Empanadas de queso, or cheese empanadas, are a typical breakfast or teatime snack, and can be found baked or fried at street vendors' stalls. Pastel de queso, a Bolivian-style cheese empanada or cheesecake, is also a popular choice, often enjoyed with a warm cup of api morado, a thick drink made from purple corn, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest.

For those with a sweet tooth, Cuñapé is a traditional dish from Eastern Bolivia, made with white cheese, egg, salt, milk, and yam flour formed into bread balls. These are often served with a hot drink such as coffee or tea and can be found at street vendors near bus stations. Alfajores, mouth-watering cookie sandwiches with a layer of Dulce de Leche in the centre, are also a must-try when visiting Bolivia.

Lastly, yuca frita, or yuca fries, are a unique treat made from the edible root of the cassava plant. These thin slices of deep-fried root can be enjoyed as a snack or alongside grilled meats, burgers, or barbecue. Yuca frita can be found at restaurants across Bolivia, such as Riquisimo Grill in Santa Cruz.

Drinks: Try Mocochinchi, a cider made from dehydrated peaches, or Api Morado, a thick, hearty drink made from purple corn

When in Bolivia, be sure to try Mocochinchi, a sweet and refreshing non-alcoholic peach tea, and Api Morado, a thick, hearty drink made from purple corn.

Mocochinchi is a Bolivian cider made from dehydrated peaches, served cold with the rehydrated peach. It is a popular summertime beverage, often sold by street vendors from large glass jars, alongside other traditional drinks such as Chicha and Somó. The peaches are left in water overnight, then boiled with sugar, cinnamon, orange juice, and lemon zest. The drink is served super sweet and ice cold, with a few slices of peach in the glass.

Api Morado, usually referred to as just "Api", is a colourful, heavy, and delicious drink made from purple maize, cinnamon, water, and sugar. It is a popular breakfast drink, especially in the Andean highlands of the country, and is often accompanied by fritters (buñuelos) or cheese-filled empanadas. The beverage is non-alcoholic, with a thick, smoothie-like consistency, and has a distinctive dark purple colour due to the anthocyanins in the maize.

Salteñas: The national dish of Bolivia, these baked empanadas are filled with beef or chicken, vegetables, and a sweet and spicy sauce

Salteñas are the national dish of Bolivia and are a popular street food. They are baked empanadas with a juicy, sweet and savoury filling. The pastry is made from flour, sugar, salt, butter, water and egg, with the distinctive orange-brown colour coming from urucú or achiote seeds (annatto) mixed into the dough. The filling is made from beef or chicken, mixed with vegetables, spices, and a sweet and spicy sauce. This can include potatoes, peas, onion, spring onion, parsley, cumin, black pepper, olives, raisins, boiled eggs, and gelatin.

The process of making the filling involves cooking the meat with the vegetables and spices, adding gelatin to the mixture and then chilling it in the refrigerator. This keeps the pastry from getting soggy when the salteñas are baked, as the gelatin melts and the mixture becomes a liquid again. The dough is then rolled out into circles, filled, and the edges are sealed and braided. The salteñas are then baked in the oven until golden brown.

Salteñas are often served with a Bolivian salsa called llajua, and are typically eaten as a mid-morning snack, accompanied by coffee or fresh fruit juice.

Anticuchos: Skewered beef or chicken hearts, often served with potatoes and a peanut sauce

Anticuchos are a popular Bolivian dish of skewered beef or chicken hearts, often served with potatoes and a peanut sauce. The dish is said to have originated in the Andean region in the 16th century and is now a popular street food item in Bolivia.

To prepare the dish, the beef or chicken hearts are first marinated in vinegar, garlic, and a variety of herbs and spices, such as cumin, black pepper, salt, oregano, mint, and parsley. The hearts are then skewered and grilled, often along with potatoes. The skewers are typically cooked by street food vendors called anticucheras and are commonly served with a spicy aji peanut sauce.

Anticuchos are a delicious and flavourful dish that showcases the unique and diverse cuisine of Bolivia, which has been influenced by the country's diverse climate and geography, and cultural history. The dish is a must-try for anyone visiting Bolivia and can be found at street food stalls and restaurants throughout the country.

Ingredients:

• Beef or chicken hearts
• Potatoes
• Oil
• Paprika
• Yellow chilli powder
• Cumin
• Garlic
• Water
• Bamboo skewers
• Peanut sauce

Instructions:

• Slice the hearts into thin pieces and place them in a bowl with vinegar and salt overnight.
• Boil potatoes in water.
• In a pan, heat oil and add paprika, yellow chilli powder, cumin, and garlic.
• After it starts to fry, add water and stir well for about a minute over medium-high heat.
• Turn off the heat and place the pan next to the grill.
• Skewer the heart slices and potatoes onto bamboo sticks.
• Grill the skewers until cooked and brush with the sauce from the pan.
• Serve warm with peanut sauce.

Soups: Try Sopa de Mani, a soup made with ground peanuts, or Locro, a squash stew

If you're looking to sample some traditional Bolivian soups, you should try Sopa de Mani or Locro.

Sopa de Mani is a traditional Bolivian soup made with ground peanuts. It typically includes beef ribs or chicken, along with vegetables such as peas, potatoes, and carrots. The soup is thickened with a raw peanut puree and spiced with cumin, black pepper, oregano, and parsley. It is often garnished with fried potato strips and served with crusty bread and llajua, a spicy Bolivian salsa made with locoto chilli peppers.

Sopa de Mani is said to originate from Cochabamba in central Bolivia, and it is usually prepared on special occasions. The soup is quite dense and nourishing, with a slightly spicy flavour.

Locro, on the other hand, is a thick and hearty squash stew traditionally consumed by people living in the Andes mountains. It is also common in several other South American countries, including Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina, where it is regarded as a national dish.

Recipes for Locro vary, but it is traditionally made with squash, corn, vegetables, and some type of meat, usually beef, charque (dried beef or llama meat), or chicken. It is often made with other ingredients such as beans, pumpkin, onions, potatoes, and a specific type of red-skinned potato called papa chola, which is native to the region. Locro is typically served in shallow bowls and garnished with fresh herbs.

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