Guinea Pig, Anyone?

Our friend Scott Williamson, working as a missionary in Peru, has just blogged about the typical Maundy Thursday Feast there. To represent the 12 disciples they eat 12 dishes -
Prawn soup, polenta, salad, corn cake, peach compote, rice with milk, purple corn pudding, corn empanadas, meringue, yellow bread, cake and bread pudding.

I am always interested in the different foods which people eat at their religious holiday times - particularly when there is some sort of symbolism attached to the ingredients/recipes.

I decided to attempt to replicate this feast - then reconsidered- 12 dishes are a lot to prepare on a day which is already busy. As there are only two of us, I decided to just do six [6 x 2 = 12 after all!]

So we had polenta, salad and empanadas - followed by rice pudding, peach compote and meringues.

The empanadas had chicken inside [not Guinea Pig- although Peruvians are very fond of eating 'cuy'!] and I still haven't got the hang of making polenta.

Apparently after such a huge feast, devout Peruvians will often fast for the whole of Good Friday. I suggested to Bob that as I had only done half the feast, he only needed to fast for half the day. He has decided to fast for the hours in between meal-times!

Scott also posted a picture of the Last Supper which hangs in Cusco  Cathedral. Painted in 1753 by the Peruvian artist Marcos Zapata, it clearly shows that their Passover Lamb had been replaced by Roast Cuy! [but surely cuy isn't kosher?]

When it comes to my experiments in cooking, I am afraid that in one sense, Bob is the guinea pig!!