Corn and potatoes make up the staple diet in this region and have been used since Inca times in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours.

Causa is a potato dish made from yellow potatoes, sweet potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, sweetcorn, fresh cheese, olives, lettuce, lemons, pepper to flavour and served with onion sauce. Papa a la huancaina is another potato dish, topped with a spicy sauce and made with milk and cheese.

A common corn dish is choclo con queso or corn-on-the-cob with cheese.

Tamales are boiled corn dumplings filled with meat and wrapped in a banana leaf.

Meat dishes are enjoyed throughout Peru and are frequently mixed with potatoes, such as ollucos con charqui and sancochado served with a variety of vegetables, then stewed and seasoned together with ground garlic. Lomo a la huancaina is beef with egg and cheese sauce.

Lomo saltado can be found on almost every restaurant menu; it consists of stir-fried beef with onions, vinegar, ginger, chilli, tomatoes, fried potatoes and is served with rice.

Other delicious combinations include:

• Rocoto relleno is a spicy bell pepper stuffed with beef and vegetables
• Palta rellena is avocado filled with chicken salad
• Estofado de carne is a delicious stew often with wine added
• Carne en adobo is a seasoned steak
• Fried pork (fritos) is popular in the mornings
• Chicharrones are deep-fried cuts of pork ribs and chicken and lechón is suckling pig
• Guinea pig or cuy is considered a delicacy in Peru

There are many soups on offer such as yacu-chupe, a potato-based green soup with cheese, garlic, coriander leaves, parsley, peppers, eggs, onions, and mint. Sopa a la criolla contains thin noodles, beef heart, bits of egg and vegetables; it is pleasantly spiced. Trout or trucha from Lake Titicaca is also a delicacy.