Re:visiting Peru | Mika's Lomo Saltado

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The goods.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I'm getting back to eating Peruvian food thanks to the lovely Miss Mika Sobieski. Mika is my new roommate and an amazing cook who spends her summers preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 150 teens at a Spanish immersion camp in Minnesota. Random, right? But through her contact with Argentinians, Peruvians, Columbians, and whatever else, she's brought mate, quinoa, all sorts of wine, and Peruvian food back into my life.

You all will love her because she made the best Peruvian dish in existence for us last night: lomo saltado. This could very well be the most popular dish in Peru, and with damn good reason. Marinated steak, home-made french fries, delicious rice, and red onions sautéed with tomatoes and cilantro (and a ton of spices) is a great combination. You won't be able to stop eating it if you make it right!

Mika made her version of lomo saltado for us, which included green bell pepper and jalapeños. You'll be seeing another variation of this classic, delicious dish in a few weeks! This makes enough for two, but it can be expanded for more.

The ingredients:

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We're not big on censorship.

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• Beef sirloin or tenderloin for two (we used a 12 oz. strip steak)
  
• Enough red wine to cover the meat
  
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
  
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
  
• 1 clove of garlic
  
• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 red onion
  
• 1/2 tomato
  
• 1/2 green pepper
  
• 1 tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
  
• juice of one lime
  
• 2 tbsp. cumin
  
• rice
  
• french fries
  
  1. Slice the steak into cubes, then marinate it with the soy sauce, red wine vinegar, a good red wine (we used a Rioja), garlic, black pepper, and salt for at least 20 minutes.
  2. Start making the rice. We made one cup of parboiled rice, because we love it. I used the beef fat to saute diced garlic, added a touch of olive oil, and continued with the rice preparation.
  3. Prepare the french fries. They're supposed to be made from scratch, but we were in a time crunch. We cheated and bought frozen Texas home fries, so at this point we put them in the oven to bake.
  4. Slice the red onion and green pepper into petals and dice half a tomato in large chunks; set aside.
  5. Once the 20 minutes are up, place the meat and marinade in a pot on medium heat.
  6. Sauté for five minutes, then add the lime juice, red onion, bell pepper, cumin, and fresh cilantro.
  7.Sauté for five more minutes, then add the diced tomato. Cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the onions and green peppers are soft.
  8. Place rice on a plate, serve the meat and juices over the rice, add french fries, and devour.