Lima, the gourmet capital of South America, and it never rains!

When we arrived in lima the sky was grey and the air humid. I asked the taxi driver if it was going to rain and he told me that it never rains in Lima. "Never?" I asked again, "Never!" he replied. Wondering if my Spanish was failing me, over the next two days I kept asking everyone I met the same question: at the hotel, the tour guide, the friends we meet for dinner... 

Apparently it doesn't rain in Lima, but its position and proximity to the Ocean means that the air is always humid, and in fact the trees were green, while hibiscus and other tropical looking flower bushes appeared in full bloom.

The historic city centre is quite grand and with a mix of styles, also due to various reconstructions after earthquakes (the Cathedral - top left, being the best example, with the original Colonial facade and then two neoclassic bell towers on the sides. 

I was also impressed with the Archbishop’s Palace in the Plaza Mayor (bottom right in the photo collage above), designed by the Polish Peruvian architect Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski. This and other stone and marble building have incredible wooden balconies attached, quite a contrast. But the best surprise in the square is the fountain. We took a tour of the central city with a guide and she told us that on July 28 (Peru Independence Day) instead of water the fountain has Pisco! No rain and Pisco from fountains? 

We were not allowed to take photos of this, but the most intriguing site we visited in the city centre was St Francis Monastery and the Catacombs. The catacombs are full of bones and skulls, quite a sight! 

The centre was great to visit, but to stay we choose Miraflores, a district that used to be the sea resort of Lima, and it is now one of its suburbs. Safe and residential, Miraflores has parks and beaches that on the weekends are full of surfers and paragliders. Some of the small houses are really cute, although it is quite a sight seeing all the security fences around them.

Our hotel was the Hilton, brand new and a real treat, never mind that the sky was mostly grey and hazy, we enjoyed the infinity pool on the 11th floor, and all the little sweet treats that were in our room and in the executive lounge. 

And talking about treats: I have to tell you that Peru surprised me with its cuisine. I was told that it was good, but it even exceeded my expectations: definitely the best of all the countries I have visited in South America. We ate well in Cusco, and we ate well in Lima. Our friends took us to La Bonbonniere, one of the many cafe/restaurants that are based in Larcomar, Miraflores' fancy terraced shopping centre with great ocean views. It was too dark to take photos of the food, but I had to include the Pisco Sour photo, the obligatory drink if you visit Peru.

Anyway, we liked La Bonbonniere so much that Arantxa and I went back the day after (we really wanted to see what it looked like in daylight, especially the decor and sea view), but not for a Pisco this time: for a Peruvian hot chocolate. Smooth and aromatized with vanilla, cinnamon and cloves, hot chocolate is definitely another "must try" in Peru :-). I am sure that I will try a few more Peruvian recipes in the next few months!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini © 

Risoni with roasted eggplants, cherry tomatoes and feta, and the Hilton in Auckland

I have written lots of posts about different places in New Zealand, and not really much about Auckland, except for the West, that is!

But since my husband and I have just celebrated 20 years together (married for  17 and a half) we decided to spend a night at the Hilton in the Auckland Viaduct. The kids went to stay with friends ;-).

The hotel is on the waterfront, looking out on the port and the Waitemata Harbour (also known as the Auckland Harbour).

The Hilton Auckland is a very modern and stylish hotel, with a good view and  a lovely bar (Bellini bar, and they do make Bellini cocktails, plus it has an aperitivo buffet, which is very good if you, like me, cannot drink without also having a nibble!).

I ate at the hotel's White Restaurant a couple of times, and always liked it. The Executive Chef, Cristiano De Martin, is Italian and cooks seasonal food using many locally sourced products. Cristiano makes really nice risotto.

Slow Food Waitakere even organized a lunch at White a couple of years ago, and it was lovely.

A good way to book hotels in New Zealand is with Wotif, you can find really good prices and last minute's deals, even for the top hotels.

And just in case you wanted to know, I didn't get payed, nor got a discount for blogging about the Hilton. We are not quite at that stage in New Zealand yet!!!

And now for today recipe:

Risoni with roasted eggplants, cherry tomatoes and feta

Cut the long eggplants into halves and then quarters, if the 'strips' are too long cut them in half again.

Sweat them with rock salt for 30 minutes, rinse well and place into a large roasting pan. Add 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved, 300 g of cherry tomatoes, halved (these were from my garden), 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp smoked paprika, half tsp smoked salt, a sprinkle of coriander seeds, and a sprinkle of cumin seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle.

Roast the vegetables for about 1 hour. When the vegetables are nearly done, cook the risoni pasta in plenty of boiling water, drain and pour over the hot vegetables (still in the roasting dish). Add some cubed feta cheese and decorate with flat leaf parsley. Serve immediately, but if you have some leftovers this pasta will be good even cold, the day after. FYI, I have also made this dish using red and yellow capsicums instead of cherry tomatoes, and it was also very good, but I prefer the roasted tomato version.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©