I forgot how delicious the food is in Bolivia. The housekeeper for the family Modesta, is from a small town on the shores of Lake Titicaca. She is an excellent chef and has been providing us with excellent and exotic meals daily during our holidays.
Mo’s specialty are dishes from the Altiplano, or Andean region. Pictured above is “Tunta.” It is prepared by harvesting a type of potato known as a Papa Nuki. There are over 8,000 different species of potato, and close to 3,000 in the Andes. Because they can grow in such a harsh climate of the Andes Mountains, Modesta’s ancestors domesticated potatoes thousands of years ago.
The tunta is prepared by first setting the potatoes outside in freezing temperatures overnight. The next day, they are peeled and place in a bag and dropped in a cold, mountain stream. They are left there for several months.
Modesta served them with chicken and they were absolutely delicious. I heard of the more popular freeze-dried potato, the “chuno” which is not place a river but in a freezer instead. For more on Andean potatoes, this pdf document is an excellent survey.
Also pictured below is a lowland Bolivian dish called “majao” which is ice and pork. I like the fried egg on top especially. It is served also with fried plantain, which is a good sweet contrast to the salty dish. .
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