Saturday, February 09, 2008

Photo: Peruvian Sea Urchin

Photo: Giuce

Sea urchin, erizo de mar, Tetrapygus niger: an odd creature if ever there was one, like a marine porcupine or hedgehog.

Ancient Peruvians savored their tasty meat which makes you feel as if you are eating the ocean itself. It is a flavor of the Pacific, of waves crashing, of deep currents moving swiftly beneath the whitecaps.

According to Sergio Zapata, sea urchins are easily found along the Peruvian coast and very popular. In Peru, they make omelettes out of them, and they can also be savored raw or lightly cooked.

The sea urchin pictured here was most likely found along the coast near Trujillo, in the north of Peru.


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TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

By all means you must try sea urchins on your next trip to Lima. Some people hate them, but "erizo" lovers would trade their immortal soul for a cebiche de erizos. What you don't want is to step on one of them while swimming. Ouch!

::Alejandro:: said...

Yes! They have an intense but wonderful flavor. And of course, don't step on them!