INTERVIEW INTERVIEW INTERVIEW CHEF

Martin Allen Morales CHEF CHEF LIMA The Peruvian cook who brought ceviche to Britain takes us into the sultry streets of the country's capital in search of Andean stews, early-morning pork rolls and steaming cups of hot fish stock

WORDS BY LUCY KEHOE

grandmother Mamita Natty lived This page: Morales. Of the 3,000 varieties of potato first restaurant has been credited Opposite page, that exist on the planet, at least with introducing Britain to South up in the Andes and grew her own clockwise from top left: 2,500 grow in Peru. Martin Allen American cuisine. His debut joint chickens and guinea pigs,’ he says. some of Peru's 2,500 Morales hasn’t seen them all but was swiftly followed by Andina, ‘She had her own fields of corn varieties of potato; he reckons he’s encountered at in Shoreditch, before a second and potatoes. All our food was a warm Lima welcome; least 40 in Lima’s food markets. Ceviche branch arrived on Old farm-to-table, nose-to-tail. I’d visit fresh produce vendors; ‘You see this explosion of colour,’ Street. Londoners (and critics), her a few times a year but I spent octopus at the fish says Martin. ‘There are not six who’d only experienced raw most weekends with her sisters, market; coconut sweets Carmela and Otilia, in the Lince tempt passers-by; varieties or four varieties like we fish in the form of sushi, were neighbourhood [of Lima]. We pedestrians stroll past see in our local shops in the UK, beguiled by platefuls of dazzling candy-coloured facades there are thousands.’ It’s the same colour, distinctive ingredients and went to the markets and carried story with chillies. ‘When you’re Peru’s signature dynamism. heavy bags back home, about trying to create a masterpiece, you The ceviche dish itself – raw three blocks away, full of mangoes, need an accomplice to the protein fish (often sea bass) ‘cooked’ avocados, chillies and fish.’ and, in Peru, that accomplice with lime juice and scattered Hemmed in between the is always chilli,’ he continues. with chillies, spring onions and South Pacific and Andes range, ‘Amarillo, panca, rocoto, limo, more – has come to define British Martin's home city is caught Colorado, the Amazonian chillies understanding of South American between extremes. Ceviche looks – all colours, shapes and sizes.’ food, thanks in no small part to to the ocean but heartier dishes From its ancient Inca history to Martin’s roster of restaurants. trace their origins back to the the roll call of migrants who have But limiting Peru’s cuisine to mountains’ chiselled, breathless made it home, Peru’s cuisine is just one plate underestimates heights. ‘In Lima, the culture is defined by its diversity. Add to that its depth. Martin's childhood both eating out and eating in,’ its wildly contrasting climates food memories are plucked explains Martin. ‘But we cook (rainforest, desert, high-altitude from across the seasons and well from our grandmothers’ recipes Andes) and a vibrant ingredients beyond the fish markets. Summer – traditional, hearty Andean list and it’s clear why Martin felt in Lima was marked by solterito, dishes: quinoa, maca, amaranth, London was sorely missing a taste a salad of potato, queso fresco chillies, potatoes, corns, herbs, of Peru when he launched his first (fresh cheese) juicy Botija olives, vegetables. This encapsulates the restaurant, Ceviche, in Soho. onion and broad beans. Winter roots of our food.' His favourite Born in Lima, Martin moved to saw much use of pulses and potato dish, papa a la Huancaína, the UK at the age of 11, forced out meats. 'There's papa rellena, is itself an Andean migrant, by threats against his father made a deep-fried potato filled with created over 100 years ago in the by Shining Path, the revolutionary a ragù of cinnamon and raisin- city of Huancayo: boiled potatoes Communist guerrillas who spiked beef,’ explains Martin. with a houmous-like sauce crafted terrorised Peru during the 1980s. ‘Arroz con pato, rice and duck, from chillies, cheese and peanuts. Since then, Leicester and London made with coriander and beer, ‘It’s exquisite,’ adds Martin. have both been home, although and arroz con pollo, rice and The chef's second restaurant, he still visits Lima most years. yellow-red chicken, with Amarillo Andina, put the spotlight on After cutting his teeth in the and smoked panca chillies.’ Andean ingredients and the music industry, Martin switched His cooking skills were gained women he credits with driving from turntables to hob tops in in the kitchens of his great Peruvian cuisine forwards. 2012 to launch Ceviche, and his grandmother and her sisters. ‘My ‘Picanteras are the

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mothers of Peruvian food,’ that dispel with airs and graces. you’re in someone’s house, he says. ‘They own family Quick bites, such as tamales, you’ll be welcomed with a CHEF restaurants in Andean cities like are top of his list. ‘Head to the pisco sour but we never have Arequipa. La Nueva Palomino organic food market, Bioferia, them with ceviche,' explains is a favourite. Go at 9am on in Miraflores on a Sunday. There Martin. Ask for a cold Christo a Sunday, after a strong hike are two lovely nuns selling beer. Or have leche de tigre, and with an empty stomach, tamales, raising money for their tiger’s milk, the marinade to eat the adobo, slow cooked convent. Theirs are the best.’ that’s used to make ceviche. smoked panca chilli, pork Limeños start the day with We serve it in cups.’ If it’s cold, and chicha corn brew. It’ll coffee, perhaps at Tosaduría regulars might turn to a fish- awaken all your senses.’ Bisetti in Barranco, before market favourite – a steaming Ceviche, on the other hand, breakfast. ‘I’d take you to cup of chilcano, fish stock. ‘It’s took inspiration from the Las Vecinas for breakfast,' part of that zero-waste culture,’ erratic streets of the capital says Martin. 'An asparagus says Martin. ‘It’s like a miso and its unlikely mismatch of tamale with a poached egg. soup – clear and full of flavour, neighbourhoods. Colourful Or some Andean bread with spring onions, coriander Barranco – ‘full of galleries, with homemade jams, like and a little squeeze of lime.’ restaurants and bars, it’s buzzy, cherimoya or papaya.’ Fruits Then, it’s back to the snacks, you eat outdoors, the markets pepper Peru’s national menu. reminiscent of the bakery MARTIN'S SHIZEN BARRA NIKKEI Clockwise from top left: Lima are great’ – and San Isidro, It’s not uncommon for diners to Martin opened beside Andina, HOTSPOTS Pulling from the history by night; pumpkin at a market stall; lemons; a street vendor the financial district. ‘In specialising in fermented EL MERCADO of 18th-century Japanese 'On Saturdays the city's heads to work; city foliage; San Isidro, you have food breads. ‘Pastelería Chef Rafael Osterling plates up migration to the city, this the street leading to Lima's from around the world, peñas fill with the dizzying San Antonio, an old- the daily catch at his laid-back, Peruvian-Japanese restaurant main train station; native the best restaurants beats of Afro-Peruvian school Lima bakery, has bistro-style fish stop. Try the crafts exquisite, creative chillies; preparing fish; fresh and the best produce.’ incredible bread, or try ceviche of the day, served with dishes. shizenbarranikkei.com watermelon; a woman wears music. "It's like something Martin rates Chifa Titi, Café De Lima. Their avocado as ripe as a soft-serve colourful traditional dress a Chinese-Peruvian you've never experienced: artichoke empanada scoop. rafaelosterling.pe DON FERNANDO restaurant, where the best musicians, dance, with icing sugar and lime A no-nonsense establishment steamed frog fish joins laughter and happiness"' might sound crazy but it LA PICANTERÍA serving criolla (Spanish- roasted duck and lychee tastes divine.’ Another fish-focused Lima influenced) food. Expect to ice cream on the menu. swerve an alcoholic tipple for After leaving the Ceviche favourite, Héctor Solís’s casual wait for a table as it’s loved by Miraflores restaurant serves Part of the joy of Lima is a guanábana (soursop) juice. group last year to focus on locals. donfernando.com.pe the hole-in-the-wall spots that The green fruit offers a creamy, supporting sustainable food specialities from Chiclayo, his hometown in north-west Peru. bear no name. You’ll find them sweet interior with citric notes. companies, Martin has had BARRA LIMA in Los Olivos, a rough-and- time to focus on his other It’s a lunch-only spot and fish is ‘After Las Vecinas, I’d take One of San Isidro’s finest. Chef ready neighbourhood rich with love: music (he owns a record priced per kilo. Get there early you for a chicharrón sandwich,' John Evans plates up Lima regional cultures. Family-run says Martin. 'It’s what every label, Tiger Milk). Those beats as there’s a limited offering classics with an edge. Avenida places boast strange opening hard-working person has on provide a strong pull on a and once it’s gone, they close. Los Conquistadores 904 hours and even stranger their way to work on a cold day. warm Lima evening. ‘I’d go picanteriasdelperu.com locations. ‘I remember my We’d go to La Lucha for the for a drink and a boogie, then uncle taking me to a restaurant confit pork with sweet potato a hot, late-night sandwich at inside someone’s garage to in a crusty white roll, with a red Monstruos in Barranco,’ he

eat shambar,’ says Martin. onion and chilli salsa.’ says, describing his perfect ‘That’s Monday soup, because And then it’s lunchtime. night. The shop is famed for its everything from the weekend ‘You’re spoilt for choice,’ says tambourine-sized baps filled goes into it. It's very hearty. The Martin. ‘Peru is the country for with meat, chilli and salad. guy showed me every single lunch. Many restaurants don’t He rhapsodises on the city’s ingredient – there were about even open for dinner. We’d peñas, too – bars which, on 20 or 30. Pulses, chickpea, go to the Surquillo Market. It’s Saturdays, fill with the dizzying pork, garlic, huacatay, which an orgy of seafood – all live. beats of Afro-Peruvian music. is Peruvian black mint, parsley, Conch shells and clams. Prawns, 'It’s like something you’ve potato and giant kernel corn.’ octopus, crabs, lobsters. And never experienced: the best Although Lima frequently right in the middle is a ceviche musicians, dance, laughter tops lists of the world’s best stall manned by this fantastic and happiness,' Martin gastronomic cities, claiming chef who tells the best jokes in explains. 'It’s that richness, five Michelin stars and some Lima. It’s called El Cevichano.’ that incredible diversity, that first-class chefs, Martin is more Don’t expect a pisco sour makes Peru so special. It’s a interested in the restaurants real feast for the senses.’

with your ceviche, though. ‘If Photos by Robert Pogson; Ulf Svane; Sarah Coghill

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