Lomo Saltado

It has been an evolving process trying to recreate me and Brad's favorite dish from the little Rinconcito del Inca, a hole-in-the-wall Peruvian restaurant that dissapeared on us. I think I finally got it this week, it was so yummy! I'm so excited I wanted to share, but I just kinda threw things in there so the measurements are kinda made up. The flavors in Peruvian food are so awesome, won't dissapoint.

LOMO SALTADO

2-3 sirloin steaks, sliced thin

2 Tbs oil

2 tomatoes, cored and sliced in strips

1/2 large red onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 escabeche pepper, seeded and diced (or habanero boiled to reduce heat)

1 beef boullion cube

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 C vinegar

2-3 Tbs soy sauce

garlic salt/white pepper to taste

parsley, for garnish

Heat oil on med-high heat, add meat and begin to brown, sprinkle with cumin, garlic salt, and pepper. Add onion and saute a couple of minutes. Add garlic, escabeche pepper, boullion, vinegar, soy sauce, and a little water. Let boil a minute then add tomato.  Continue cooking until everything softens and a nice sauce develops, add salt/pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley. This dish is traditionally served on a mound of white rice with french fries on top, yum!

I don't ever want to own a deep fryer, so I tried making some oven fries and they were pretty great! (&easy &healthier!)

OVEN FRIES

2-3 large potatoes

a few Tbs olive oil

salt

Peel potatoes (if desired) and cut in long french fry strips. Toss with olive oil and spread onto a cookiesheet, sprinkle with salt. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes, moving with a spatula every 5-10 min to make sure they don't stick and cook evenly.

One of my cute, little Peruvian companions taught me how to make this sauce. It's traditionally served on top of boiled and sliced potatoes and eggs with a bed of lettuce underneath. That is yummy too, but it's pretty dang good to dip fries and just about anything in. Brad didn't even care that I got the meat down cause hes just obsessed with this sauce.

PAPA-A-LA HUANCAINA SAUCE (awesome spicy cheese sauce)

1 C milk (maybe a bit less, add more if its too thick)

1 C cubed cheese (I use mozarella or mozarella&cheddar)

1-2 Tbs olive oil

1-2 escabeche peppers, seeded

4 saltine crackers

2 pinches aji-no-moto, or a couple animal crackers

garlic salt/white pepper to taste

Blend oil and peppers, add remaining ingredients and blend. Serve at room temp, but refrigerate it afterwards.

Buen Provecho!