Can I be honest here? Can I?
Because if I’m being completely honest, I’d have to say that there are times when I get tired of eating Peruvian food.
Not that there aren’t hundreds of delicious dishes to try! And the spices and condiments are used in some pretty wonderful ways.
The problem for me is the meals themselves. It seems like everything is a piece of meat or chicken, a big portion of rice and some potatoes. Sometimes the potatoes have sauce on them, or sometimes they’re switched out for yams or yuca; but generally, the meals don’t have a lot of variety other than the cooking method of the main dish.
But I do love the main dishes and flavors, so something I like to do is find new ways to serve Peruvian favorites. That way, my family is happy with the flavors they’re used to but I get a little bit of the variety I crave. One of my favorite dishes to play with is Lomo Saltado, mostly because it lends itself so well to experimentation. The beef, onion and tomato mixture works well with so many things. Here’s the basic recipe for starting:
Ingredients:
- vegetable oil
- 1 lb stir fry beef
- 1 onion, julienned in thin slices
- 1 tomato, julienned, seeds removed
- 1 aji amarillo, julienned in thin strips
- 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
- salt, pepper to taste
- parsley, chives – optional
- Heat a little bit of oil in a large frying pan or wok.
- Season the beef with salt and pepper, then stir fry in the oil. Add a tablespoon or so of the soy sauce. Remove the beef, and set aside.
- In the same pan, stir fry the vegetables with another tbsp or so of soy sauce until tender but not mushy.
- Add in the beef, add a dash of parsley and chopped chives if you wish, and stir it all together.
- Lomo Cheesesteak – split a fresh roll (pan frances or a longer hoagie style roll) and fill with the meat mixture. Put a slice of your favorite cheese or shredded mozzarella on top, and put under the broiler until the cheese melts. Serve with homestyle fries.
- Lomo Wrap – Wrap the mixture burrito style in a large flour tortilla with shredded cheese.
- Lomo Pizza – Make or buy a pizza crust, top with your favorite sauce, layer with mozzarella and the lomo mixture, bake until the crust is crispy.
