Lomo Saltado is a popular dish in Peruvian cuisine.
The Spanish introduced the pepper steak to Peru, but Chinese immigrants made it famous. They took the steak and pepper, added a bit of potato and soy sauce, and one of Peru’s favorite foods was born: Lomo Saltado!
There are many variations of this dish, but it usually consists of some type of beef steak, marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, and spices and then stir fried with tomatoes, red onions,and parsley. It is traditionally served over white rice with home made french fries.
I first tasted Lomo Saltado when my son, home for a visit, brought it home for lunch from a local Peruvian restaurant. My first reaction upon seeing it was…“French fries with rice????” But, upon tasting the delicious combination of marinated beef with the tomatoes, peppers, and onions it all made perfect sense. A fan was born!
Some time after that I had found a recipe online for Grilled Lomo Saltado, which I quickly stashed away among my piles of other recipes that I hope to someday try.
So the other day when I dove into that pool of recipes, both old and new, looking for my mom’s apple cake recipe, what should fall out, but Lomo Saltado! The gods must have been telling me something so I grabbed the apple cake and the Lomo Saltado, an unlikely pair to say the least, and ran to the kitchen to make this Grilled Lomo Saltado for dinner.
The purging and reorganization of my recipes will have to wait for another day!
Grilled Lomo Saltado (adapted from recipe from Santos Loo, foodnetwork.com)
(serves 4)
Ingredients
1 skirt steak (about 1 pound)
2 medium red onions, cut in ½ lengthwise
2-3 cloves garlic
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
4 teaspoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-2 medium Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into wedges
½ teaspoon paprika
2 medium heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges (regular ripe tomatoes will do)
¼ cup chopped cilantro leave (I used parsley)
1 medium red pepper , cut into small wedges
Directions
Have grill pre-greased to medium-high
Place steak in 1 bowl and onions and peppers in another. Using a knife, make a paste by combining the garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Whisk together the garlic paste, rice vinegar, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of the canola oil, cumin, and ground black pepper.
Divide marinade between steak and onions. Refrigerate for ½ hour.
Before grilling, allow steak and onions to come to room temperature. Place steak on grill and cook about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Discard marinade. When done, let steak rest before slicing.
Place onions face down on grill and cook until slightly soft, about 6 minutes. When done, cut onion into wedges. (As you can see from the photo above I cut mine into wedges before grilling…ooops, but no harm done, just grill accordingly.
Sprinkle paprika over potatoes and toss with remaining canola oil. Place on grill and cook until soft inside, about 6 minutes per side. Season with salt when done.
In a large bowl combine steak and juices, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, cilantro or parsley, and reserved marinade from the onions. Toss gently and reseason with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve warm over rice. (I used brown rice, but white is traditional).
Note: I would suggest 1 and1/2 or 2 x the marinade ingredients in the above recipe, and marinating it longer (for several hours) if there is time.
