Lomo Saltado
This was actually the first Peruvian dish I cooked (before I was vegan) and am proud to present this version of it. I included a lot of details below so don’t get overwhelmed at the length of the recipe 😅 It’s pretty straightforward when you get the hang of it. I started working on this recipe two months ago and could never finalize it as I kept thinking of ways to improve it.
Here is what I’ve found most useful:
The potatoes will take the longest time, they do not have to be peeled if you don’t want. My preference is to bake the fries instead of frying them as it uses a lot less oil (and keeps the stove cleaner). With the exception of the potatoes, I’ve timed this recipe to be completed by the time the rice is done (in roughly 20 minutes).
Ingredients & Preparation:
Russet potatoes (2 medium sized)
Jasmine rice (2 cups)
Olive oil
Mushrooms (2 Portobello or 5 baby bella) sliced (see footnote for assistance*)
Salt
Cumin
Onions (1 medium sized) chop into wedges
Garlic (4 cloves) roughly diced
Red wine vinegar (2 tbsp) Can substitute with red wine or beer
Soy sauce (2 tbsp) *keep in mind there is a lot of sodium in soy sauce
Tomatoes (1 large or 2 medium sized) chop into wedges
Cilantro (1/4 cup) chopped
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 420°F. Chop the potatoes into the form of fries, and toss into a bowl with olive oil and salt to fully cover each fry. Line a baking sheet with foil and add in the fries spread out so they’re not touching each other. Bake for 15 minutes then flip the fries over and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes.
2. Cook the rice (see full instructions below if needed).
3. Prepare the ingredients as noted above, keeping in mind the tomatoes onions should be chopped proportionally similar in size. This all needs to be done before beginning the stir fry.
4. In a large frying pan add olive oil and the garlic on medium high heat. Keep an eye on the garlic as it can easily burn or get too dark if you aren’t watching it. When the garlic goldens, add the mushrooms to cook with salt and cumin. Sauté to mix the garlic around so it doesn’t burn. Only do this for a few minutes as it will get cooked again in a later step. Remove from pan.
5. Stir fry the vegetables with oil in medium-high heat by adding first the onions until slightly golden and then the tomatoes. Shake rapidly so it doesn’t burn, this needs to be done fast and while hot so it sears and leaves char marks.
6. Add the red wine vinegar to the frying pan and mix with the onions and tomatoes until almost evaporated, it should only take a few minutes.
7. Add the mushrooms into the pan and the soy sauce, stirring at all times so all vegetables get a brown tint of color but doesn’t burn.
8. Toss the cilantro to the frying pan for a few minutes.
9. Serve rice to dish with the fries and add in the stir fry.
10. Toss some more chopped cilantro over and enjoy!
Cooking white rice:
We don’t have a rice cooker so here is how we cook rice over the stovetop.
But the same first four steps can be applied if you are using a rice cooker.
1. Add two cups of rice to a pot with three cups of water
2. Add 1 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil
3. Add 2 teaspoons of salt
4. Add 1/2 tablespoon of minced or blended garlic
5. Stir everything in pot, cover with lid, and let boil for 5 minutes
6. Once boiling, adjust heat to medium-low heat for 15 minutes
*Cutting portabello mushrooms:
Wash the mushrooms and dry immediately, remove the stem but keep the dark brown fibers in it – no need to scoop out as this meal is dark in color so it will blend right in. If you’re using for this meal, you will want the slices to be cut into wedges similar to the tomatoes.