[pan flute music playing]
The Incas considered the fertile valley of the Urubamba River to be a sacred place.
The lush grasslands of this high plateau support sheep and grain production,
and the mountain backdrop provides the ideal setting for an authentic pachamanca,
or Andean pit roast.
Usually undertaken at harvest time, as a thank-you to Pacha Mama, or Mother Earth,
a full-scale pachamanca, is a major endeavor that engages the entire community.
For his visiting American guests, Chef Pio Vasquez of El Huacatay Restaurant in the town of Urubamba
has orchestrated a pachamanca out of season, on a friend’s farm in the picturesque Sacred Valley.
The culinary adventure begins at El Huacatay, where Chef Vasquez will prepare the mise en place for the pachamanca.
First, he must make the marinades that will season the meat and the uchucutas, or salsas,
that will accompany the roasted meat at the table.
With the Cabernet-colored aji panca, he prepares a paste—
first deveining the hot peppers, then blanching them several times in hot water,
then blending them to a smooth purée.
Vinegar, mustard, vegetable oil, cumin, garlic and fresh oregano complete this marinade,
which he will use on chicken.
For the lamb, he prepares a green marinade with huacatay,
an herb in the marigold family that some refer to as “black mint,”
plus cilantro, garlic, and the fermented Andean corn beer called chicha de jora.
From Urubamba, the group travels to the hamlet of Huayoccari
just beyond the walls of a sixteenth-century hacienda,
where a rock-lined pit has been heated all morning in preparation for the pachamanca.
From two Quechua words meaning “earthen pot,”
a pachamanca is a harvest banquet rich with symbolism,
as participants pay homage to Pacha Mama
by returning to earth the produce that just came from it.
First, strong workers must dig a deep pit, line the walls with large stones,
and build a fire on the earthen floor.
Stretched across the pit, a platform holds yet more stones.
These stones must be of volcanic origin,
the only type capable of withstanding the eventual heat of the pit.
After about four hours, when the fire has burned down and the stones on top are fiercely hot,
men washed the stones with salt water to clean and blanch them.
The heated stones are set aside and the ashes swept out of the pit.
The underground oven is almost ready to load.
But first: an important ritual.
To give thanks to Mother Earth, a few coca leaves are sprinkled in the smoldering pit.
Only now is the oven ready for its cargo.
First, a scattering of whole Andean potatoes and fat red onions,
then a flat layer of hot stones.
Next come the meats that Chef Vasquez has pre-seasoned earlier that day....
....lamb in a cilantro marinade;
chicken seasoned with aji panca and chicha de jora,
the fermented Peruvian corn beer;
more stones, then foil-wrapped trout seasoned with oregano and sliced tomato;
whole tubers such as oca and whole plantains in their skin;
and one of the most prized components of the meal....
halved pineapples.
Finally, a clay pot filled with cheese and rosemary is nestled in one corner,
and more hot stones are piled on top,
carefully positioned to seal crevices and lock in steam.
Whole plantain leaves are placed on the stones,
then topped with whole fava beans and massive amounts of fresh herbs.
Wet cloths go on top of the damp paper, neatly overlapped to trap the heat.
Then the dirt is replaced, one slow shovelful at a time.
Emphasizing the spiritual significance of this ritual meal,
a female participant marks the mound with a flower-bedecked cross,
while others add a wreath of greenery.
Who would suspect that a feast lies underfoot?
Forty minutes later, like a film running in reverse,
the men begin to dismantle the pachamanca pit.
They lift off the herbs in search of the favas,
the key to the entire production.
When the favas are done, everything else is done, too.
Out come the platters and bowls and the contents of the pit are plucked from the earth,
like precious ruins at an archaeological site.
To the table they go: charred potatoes and pineapple wedges and crimson red chicken,
packets of steamed trout, soft plantains and molten Andean cheese,
all imbued with the aromas of smoke and herbs
and the indescribable contribution of Mother Earth.