Pan y Palta

Continuing with our food theme, another one of our favorite things to eat is pan y palta (bread and avocado).  Peru grows amazing avocados in a town about 3 hours from here, Moquegua, which are very creamy and delicious.  We are also lucky that there is always fresh baked bread, which comes in different shapes. The bread unique to Tacna is called marraqueta, and reminds me a little of French bread--crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. 

JP indoctrinated me in the correct way to eat pan y palta when we got here, so here he is going through the steps for you.

First, gather your supplies: a palta (obviously), a plate, knife, fork, and salt and pepper:

Then, cut the palta in half longways:

Take out the pit and scoop out the flesh:

After scooping out all the palta, add some salt and pepper and mash it all up with the fork:

Once the palta is ready, it is time for bread. Here is some yummy marraqueta:

You can see how the one in the picture above is divided into three little pieces. We can get ten pieces of bread for 1 sol (33 cents US).  Break off a piece of bread and cut it in half or tear it into pieces, then spread the avocado on the bread:

Repeat and enjoy!

This is one of our favorite things to eat for breakfast after we go to the market, or as a backup meal when we run out of food or don't have time to cook for lunch or dinner.  Paltas have been between 1 and 2 soles each (33-67 cents) so it is a great deal and is delicious!