The must-try dishes on a South America cruise

South America is the land where beef and fish reign supreme, where stews are worshipped and empanada pastries are national treasures.

There are more culinary treats across the continent’s capitals than even the most generous waistband can accommodate – so it’s wise to formulate a battle plan to become a South American food connoisseur.

Here are some of the must-tries when travelling across the region:

Buenos Aires

Ever since the Spanish brought cattle to Argentina in the 1500s, beef has become a national obsession. The key word to learn is parrilla, which is both a steakhouse restaurant (you’ll have no trouble finding one), and the grill that meat is cooked on.

Meals normally start with achuras (grilled offal) and provoleta, a soft, round cheese cooked until it melts inside. Then comes the main event in which gigantic slabs of beef are served with sauces – expect garlic and herb chimichurri and salsa criolla. There are a dazzling array of meat cuts, but you can’t go wrong with a bife de chorizo (sirloin), or ojo de bife (ribeye).

Don’t miss: Alfajores – two cookies sandwiched with a thick dulce de leche caramel sauce, usually covered in powdered sugar, coconut or chocolate.

Silversea’s 10-day cruise sails from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro. From £4,770pp, departing February 26, 2020 (silversea.com).

Rio de Janeiro

You’ll need plenty of sustenance to fuel a day exploring Rio – so look to feijoada, Brazil’s flagship dish. This rich and hearty stew has Portuguese origins and is eaten across the country. While there are slight regional differences, the dish involves cooking beans with various pork and beef cuts, and serving it with rice, farofa (crunchy, toasted cassava flour), sliced oranges, and collard greens or kale, all in individual pots.

In Rio, many restaurants offer two versions of the classic black bean feijoada. Both are brimming with meat, but one includes the traditional ears, tail and feet cuts. Feijoada is often saved for Saturdays, but head to Casa de Feijoada, just off Ipanema beach, to tuck in throughout the week.

Don’t miss: Brazil’s trademark caipirinha cocktail. For a booze-free option, try a thick açaí smoothie made with berries from the Amazon.

Holland America Line’s 16-day South American Passage cruise departs Rio de Janeiro. From £2,099pp, departing November 18, 2019 (hollandamerica.com).

Santiago

Work up an appetite before trying a mighty empanada. Incarnations of these baked pastries appear across the continent, but in Chile they are prized as a national dish. While eaten year-round, their popularity surges when the country celebrates its independence day in September. Normally stuffed with meat, cheese or shellfish, pino is the most popular filling – a mixture of beef, onion, raisins, boiled egg, and, importantly, just one black olive.

Don’t miss: For a summer treat, mote con huesillos – a blend of cooked husked wheat (mote), a sugary cinnamon syrup and rehydrated dried peaches (huesillos). Best devoured cold, with a spoon.

Fred Olsen’s 70-night South American Exploration cruise from Southampton calls at Valparaiso. From £6,999pp, departing January 6, 2020 (fredolsencruises.com).

Lima

Ceviche is so coveted in Peru that it has its own national day each June. Lima, the geographical and culinary capital, is the best place to sample it. Ceviche starts with fresh, raw fish – seabass is a popular choice. A marinade of lime juice reacts with the meat to essentially cook it without heat, leaving it tender and flavoursome. The only other additions are salt, fiery chilli and onion, and the result is fresh and feisty, hot and cold. It’s often served with corn on the cob and sweet potatoes, making it ideal for lunch. Ceviche is served at the capital’s high-end restaurants, but is also readily available in markets, family-run establishments and from street food stalls.  

Don’t miss: Pisco sour cocktails (pisco brandy, sugar syrup, lime juice, egg white and bitters). Many insist it was invented in Lima (Chile also claims ownership). For a non-alcoholic alternative try some yellow, bubblegum-flavoured Inca Kola.

Hurtigruten’s 10-day land and cruise itinerary Peru and Chile - Inca Highlights and Machu Picchu sails from Lima. From £3,401pp, departing October 22, 2019 (hurtigruten.com).

Cartagena de Indias

On almost every corner of this colourful, colonial city are Palanquera fruit sellers. They deftly balance bowls on their heads, brimming with the ripest pineapples, papayas, watermelons, mangos – and more. These women hail from the nearby village of San Basilio de Palenque, which was founded by African slaves who escaped from Cartagena during the colonial era. In 1691 it became the first community independent of Spanish power. Today, they cut their wares to order and will craft the most delicious tropical fruit salad of your life.

Don’t miss: The confectionary stands of Portal de Los Dulces. Glass jars are stuffed with traditional sweets. Many have a coconut theme, including cocadas – sticky bundles of sugary, shredded coconut heaven.

Princess Cruises’ 25-day Andes and South America itinerary calls at Cartagena. From £3,152pp, departing January 9, 2020 (princess.com).

Montevideo

Uruguay’s headline dish is the chivito. While many South American recipes have foreign origins, this one is decidedly home-grown. Its story dates back to 1944 in Punta del Este. An Argentinian customer asked the now famous chef Antonio Carbonaro for chivo, or goat meat. Goat was rarely served in the coastal city, but there was plenty of beef. So Carbonaro presented a thin beef steak sandwich with ham, calling it chivito (little goat). The dish became a Uruguayan icon, and a classic in the capital.

Chivitos are referred to as sandwiches, but this belies their goliath size. The key ingredients are a large, thin steak, plenty of cheese and bacon or ham, which can be piled into soft buttered bread or on top of a mound of chips. A fried or hard-boiled egg is normally balanced on top, alongside lettuce, olives, tomatoes and mayonnaise. These meaty monsters appear on most menus across Montevideo, with many offering twists on the iconic dish.

Don’t miss: Mate (pronounced ma-teh), a popular, strong and bitter herbal tea made from yerba mate leaves. It doesn’t always feature on menus (locals normally carry their own thermos of water to make it on the go) but the dry leaves are available from supermarkets.

MSC Cruises’ seven night round-trip cruise from Santos calls at Montevideo. From £439pp, departing December 13, 2019 (msccruises.co.uk).