Where to Start with Morena Cuadra
Morena Cuadra was born in El Salvador, raised in Nicaragua, and found her culinary home in Peru. A trained chef and certified wine expert, she directs a culinary school in Lima where she teaches both Peruvian and international cuisine. Together with her daughter Morena Escardó, a writer and vegetarian home cook, she runs the popular food blog Peru Delights, which has become a go-to resource for people around the world looking to cook authentic Peruvian food at home. Their collaboration produced “The Big Peruvian Cookbook” (2019), a comprehensive collection of 100 traditional recipes that spans the country’s coastal, highland, and jungle regions. The book reflects Cuadra’s professional training and Escardó’s talent for clear, engaging writing, making it one of the most accessible introductions to Peruvian cuisine available in English.
Start here
The Big Peruvian Cookbook
Morena Cuadra and Morena Escardó · 272 pages · 2019 · Easy
Themes: peruvian cuisine, traditional recipes, home cooking, beginner-friendly
A welcoming journey through Peru’s diverse gastronomy, written by a mother-daughter team who run a culinary school in Lima and the popular food blog Peru Delights. Morena Cuadra and Morena Escardó present 100 traditional recipes that span the country’s coastal, highland, and jungle regions, covering everything from ceviches and piqueos to hearty soups and beloved sweets.
Why Start Here
The Big Peruvian Cookbook works as a first Peruvian cookbook because it balances authenticity with accessibility. Cuadra trained as a professional chef and runs a culinary school, so her recipes are tested and precise. But the instructions are written for home cooks, not restaurant kitchens. You get the real deal, presented in a way that does not assume you already know how to handle aji amarillo paste or cook with huacatay.
The book covers the full breadth of Peruvian cooking without overwhelming you. At 100 recipes across 272 pages, every dish earns its place. You will find the classics that define the cuisine: ceviche, lomo saltado, aji de gallina, papa a la huancaina, and causa. But you will also discover lesser-known regional dishes that reveal how much variety exists within Peru’s borders.
Cuadra and Escardó also provide context for each dish, explaining where it comes from and why it matters. This transforms a recipe collection into something closer to a culinary education.
What to Expect
A colorful 272-page cookbook with vibrant photography that captures both the food and the culture behind it. The recipes are organized by course, from appetizers and soups through main dishes and desserts. Most recipes call for ingredients that are available at well-stocked grocery stores or Latin American markets, though a few specialty items like aji panca paste or lucuma may require a trip to a specialty shop or an online order. Difficulty is genuinely accessible. A confident beginner can handle the majority of recipes, with a handful of more traditional preparations that reward patience and practice.