Lessons

Presentation on Peru
Food

• By 5000 B.C., small communities were established and the early cultivation of cotton, chili peppers, beans, squash, and maize (similar to corn) began.
• They used peppers
• One of the world's most popular vegetables, papas (potatoes), were first grown in Peru
• The Spanish helped to introduce chicken, pork, and lamb to the Incas.
• Africans contributed such foods as picarones (anise-sweetened, deep-fried pastries made from a pumpkin dough), to the Peruvian cuisine, as did Polynesians from the Pacific Islands, the Chinese, and the Japanese.
• 
  Baked Papas (Potato) Skins
  Ingredients
  8 baking (russet) potatoes, scrubbed and pat dry
  Olive oil, to brush on potato skins
  Sweet paprika, to sprinkle on potato skins
  Salt (coarse preferred)
  Sour cream, for topping
  Procedure
  Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  Prick the potatoes a few times with a fork and bake them in the middle of the oven for 1 hour.
  Let the potatoes cool, halve them lengthwise, and scoop them out, leaving a ¼-inch shell; reserve the potato pulp for another use.
  Cut each shell lengthwise into 6 strips and arrange the strips on a baking sheet.
  Brush the strips with the oil, sprinkle them with paprika, salt, and pepper, to taste, and bake them again at the same temperature for 20 to 25 more minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown.
  Serve the potato skins with the sour cream.
  Serves 6.