Pachamanca

Pachamanca means earth pot in Quechua, and the method is what the name says. A pit is dug, stones are heated in a fire built inside it until they are near white, the fire is cleared, and layers are built up - marinated lamb, pork, chicken and cuy at the bottom, then potatoes, sweet potatoes, oca, broad beans in the pod, humitas wrapped in corn husk, and often a whole squash - separated by hot stones and herbs, chincho and huacatay above all. The whole thing is covered with leaves, cloth and earth and left to cook for an hour or two before being dug out. It is a communal method: the digging, the fire, the building and the opening all take people and time, and it belongs to festivals and family gatherings rather than to restaurants, though country quintas serve it at weekends.

Highlights

• The stone pit - rocks heated in a fire until near white, then layered with the food.
• The layers - marinated meats below, tubers, beans and humitas above.
• The herbs - chincho and huacatay giving the dish its characteristic smell.
• The communal work - digging, building and opening as a group activity.

When to go

Year-round; July around Santiago in the Mantaro valley is the heaviest season. The full process takes half a day, and eating it takes a long lunch.

Practical notes

Restaurants serving it daily are usually cooking it another way - a real pachamanca needs the pit and the time, and is generally a weekend or event thing. Enormous portions, heavy on meat. Vegetarian versions exist but are not standard. Ask before travelling whether it is actually being made that day.

Nearby

The Mantaro valley around Huancayo is the best-known area for it; Huánuco and Ayacucho follow.