Arequipeña
The picantería cooking of Arequipa — fiery rocoto relleno, peanut-bright ocopa, river-shrimp chowder, and a weekly rotation of hearty chupes.
Rocoto Relleno
A fiery rocoto pepper stuffed with spiced beef and cheese, baked under a potato gratin — Arequipa's signature.
View page →Arequipa, the 'White City' of the southern highlands, guards a cuisine apart — the picantería tradition served in its centuries-old taverns and recognized as cultural heritage. Its emblem is rocoto relleno, a fiery thick-walled pepper stuffed with spiced beef and cheese under a potato gratin. Beside it: ocopa, potatoes under a huacatay-and-peanut sauce; solterito, a fava-and-cheese salad; the river-shrimp chupe de camarones; and the famous weekly rotation of chupes that gives each day of the week its own soup.
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A fiery rocoto pepper stuffed with spiced beef and cheese, baked under potato gratin.
Why start here · Arequipa's signature.
Boiled potatoes under a creamy huacatay-peanut-ají sauce.
Why start here · Arequipa's answer to huancaína.
A cold salad of favas, corn, fresh cheese, olives and rocoto.
Why start here · The picantería's bright side.
The Pantry
See all 46 ingredients›
Sauces & Condiments
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
See 6 more techniques›
Kindred Kitchens
Cuisines built on the same signature ingredients
Other regions
Siblings within Peruvian — each its own tradition.