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Peruvian recipes: Lomo Saltado

Ingredients:

– 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper
– 4 tablespoons soy sauce
– 1 shot Pisco
– 4 tablespoon dry sherry or white wine
– 1 cup broth
– 1/2 cup olive oil
– 1 cup Vegetable oil
– 1.7 lb large sized yellow potatoes
– 1.8 lb tenderloin
– 1 medium sized red onion
– 2 Fresh “yellow aji chilies”
– 4 small tomatoes
– 1 oz peeled garlic
– 4 green onions (green part)
– 4 tablespoons cilantro
– 4 tablespoons minced parsley

Preparation:

Cut the tenderloin in 4 medallions and each one in pieces of 1” inch cubes. Season with salt, half of pepper and soy sauce. Halved the onions and cut in slices. Peel and cut tomatoes in the same way, peel aji chilies and take their seeds out. Slice the green onions. Peel the yellow potatoes and cut in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 1 each strips. Put the potatoes in a bowl with cold water to cover and swish to remove the surface starch. Drain and refill again, drain well, and pat dry in a clean kitchen towel. In a large frying pan, fry the potatoes. When they are ready, put them in paper towel. Using a large frying pan or wok over high heat, cook the meat. Add the pisco and the high temperatures will evaporate the alcohol. Transfer to another plate. In the same frying pan, add the onions and aji chilies until the skin is nicely brown. Reser- ve. Then, stir fry the tomatoes with green onions. Reserve. In the same sauce- pan, fry the garlic and add sherry and wait until it evaporates. Combine everything and add the cilantro and parsley.
Stir-fry. Serve with rice.

Notes:
Preparation time: 20 min

Cooking time: 30 min

On 29 agosto, 2025 • By magicalblog

Food• Travel Tips

Peru’s National Pride: Their Cuisine

Food plays an undeniable role in Peru’s culture; they take pride in their dishes and rejoice in sharing it with others. It is no doubt that Peru offers a plethora of thrill-seeking experiences, but its culinary prowess should never be overlooked. Except that it is more than just a meal, it is encountering a taste of Peru and what it means to be Peruvian. They are connecting with any traveler who passes through Peru, because every dish, every ingredient, tells a story. Food connects each and every one of us. Peruvian-born restaurateur Humberto Leon once said that “If you met another Peruvian, you would hug them and immediately start talking about food.” To Peruvian’s, their cuisine means pride; it means taking what was made by their homeland and using it to create something delicious that can be shared with anyone.

PICTURE

While it may have started only among Peruvians, there’s no doubt their cuisine has reached global audiences. They have rightfully earned their place as one of the most diverse culinary destinations through fusion. Dishes reflect the centuries long connections Peru has been able to forge by welcoming influences from various parts of the world and combining it with their own ingredients and techniques. Peruvian dishes are not just food; they are a reflection of the country’s diverse cultural history. Many of Peru’s most popular restaurants draw from this idea of merging cuisines, a notable one being Maido.

In June of 2025, The World’s 50 Best released their best restaurants list. And who was crowned number one? That would be Maido, a fusion restaurant in Lima, Peru. Maido’s head chef is Mitsuharu Tsumura “Micha” , many generations ago, in 1889, Tsumura’s ancestors came from Japan to Peru, where he was born. After having gone through a culinary arts program in the US and then specializing in Japanese cuisine in Osaka, Tsumura opened Maido in 2009, in Lima. From his childhood growing up in Peru and practice of Japanese culinary skills, he was able to seamlessly marry Japanese technique and Peruvian ingredients. Tsumura has used his expertise to create a welcoming environment, starting at the door. The name of the restaurant ‘Maido’, means welcome or thanks for coming in a dialect found in Osaka. This phrase is used as a greeting for customers in many shops or restaurants, one of those being Maido. Winning the title of best restaurant in the world is a very monumental moment not just for Tsumura, but for all of Peru as well.

In recent years, Peru based restaurants have landed on the 50 Best Restaurants and Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants. The latter list featured eight Peruvian restaurants. It would be an understatement to say that Peruvian food has captured global attention in recent years. This rise can be credited to multiple chefs and their restaurants, like Maido. These awards have helped many travelers start to see Peru as a destination for everyone looking to expand their culinary palette. But that is not to say that you need to visit Michelin-starred or high-end restaurants, no matter which restaurant you visit will provide you with a life changing culinary experience. Some of the country’s most authentic and delicious food can be found in street stalls, local markets, and small family-run restaurants. These places often serve traditional dishes passed down through generations, using fresh, local ingredients that capture the heart of Peruvian cuisine.

For a long time, people may have thought that the only thing Peru had going for it was Machu Picchu, but did you know that there are so many other reasons to travel there, because in truth, you can visit Machu Picchu and experience Peru’s bold flavours.

Peru is home to a unique and life changing experience when it comes to cuisine. Having taken inspiration from many other cuisines while still staying true to its indigenous ingredients and traditions, allows for a once in a lifetime opportunity of tastebud exploding flavours. Peru has birthed many awards winning restaurants each with a unique and inspirational story that only enhances each meal. Whether you’re dinning at the finest restaurants in Peru or a simple cafe serving tradition, a cooking class or a tasting tour, Peru is your one stop destination for everything culinary. See our Taste of Peru tour

https://magicalcuzcotours.com/taste-of-peru/

On 15 agosto, 2025 • By magicalblog

Food• Peru• Travel Tips

5 Staple Dishes you cannot miss while in Peru

All right, now everything is set for your Peru trip, you got your flights, your accommodation, all the transportation you will need is booked and you can just relax before you leave. Meanwhile we suggest to start getting into Peruvian culture learning some Spanish words essential to survive during your trip, learn about Peruvian culture and start checking on restaurants to book for lunch or dinner, dishes you wanna try, market you do not want to miss. As you already know Peruvian cuisine is one of the most popular and well-known in the world and I am pretty sure that one of the things you do not want to miss is tasting a good ceviche and get to know the wonder and gems of our food culture. Here a list of dishes you must tr before leaving Peru.

Ceviche: This is the most popular Peruvian dish in the world. Many times, when we talk about Peru with a foreigner, then we end up talking about ceviche and its amazing and delicious taste. If you want to try the traditional ceviche we suggest to do it in Lima, since the dish is from the coastal region of Peru. Also remember that the fish used for making ceviche has to be extremely fresh. Since fishmen boats goes out very early in the morning and go back before lunch, restaurants in Lima serve ceviche only for lunch. Even tough you could find ceviche at night in some restaurants, it is not very common.

Lomo saltado: This dish comes from the union of Peruvian tradition and Chinese cuisine. The dish is made of marinated strips of sirloin, or other beef steak, red onion, tomatoes, Peruvian yellow aji chilies, French fries, served with rice, cooked at Peruvian style. The combination of ingredients create a unique flavors, you will love it! This dish is pretty easy to find in any restaurant and Peruvian very often eat it for lunch during the week.

Causa: This is considered an appetizer but it is a very reach dish, made of Peruvian yellow potatoes, avocado (we call it palta), mayonnaise and an ingredient of your choice. That means that it could be chicken, vegetables, prawns, tuna. The combination of flavors is delicious.

Aji de gallina: this is a chicken-based dish and usually Peruvians eat during the week at least once. Also expats and visitors love it for its amazing taste. It’s a spicy and creamy chicken stews served with Peruvian style steam rice and a boiled egg. In some restaurants you can also find black olives on top.

Papas a la Huancayna: this is also considered a starter, very common in restaurants and street stalls. Sliced of boiled Peruvian potatoes topped with a velvety sauce made of yellow aji pepper, evaporated milk, oil, fresh cheese and crackers. The name comes from the fact that traditionally the potatoes used to prepare the dish came from Huancayo area in the region called Junin.

What are you waiting for? Come to Peru and taste our traditional cuisine.

On 11 enero, 2022 • By magicalblog

Food• Peru• Travel Tips

5 Peruvian Traditional Desserts

Peruvian cuisine is famous for its variety of salty dishes and tastes, but it is also popular for its traditional desserts. You can find them from the fanciest gourmet restaurant to the most rustic street stall, everyone has its own version but the aim is not to compromise the traditional flavors.

ALFAJORES

Alfajores are extremely popular in Latin America’s countries, but Peru has its own and unique version indeed. They are two-layer shortbread cookies filled with “dulce de leche”, which we call in Peru “manjar”. They are usually eaten as a snack, after lunch or for tea time, the traditional Peruvian “lonche”. They are sprinkled with powdered sugar and if you want a special exotic flavor roll it into shredded coconut.

SUSPIRO A LA LIMEÑA

This is a smooth caramel–based cream lucuma-flavored, covered by a fluffy immaculate meringue and topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon. It’s a real sweetness experience! The traditional version is made with lucuma, a Peruvian creamy fruit, but there are other delicious versions with passion fruit, peach, chirimoya, coconut or mango.

ARROZ CON LECHE

This is a traditional dessert which bring us back to the very first traditions of Peruvian cuisine, brought to Latin America by the Spanish conquerors who took it from the Arab traditions. It’s a fabulous combination of rice, cinnamon, cloves, condensed milk and sugar. Sometimes is served with mazamorra, another traditional dessert. When you mix arroz con leche and mazamorra the result is the “combinado”, a mix of both desserts whose tastes are perfect together.

MAZAMORRA

This s a pudding-like dessert of a brilliant purple color, usually served cold. This dessert is made with purple corn, from which comes its color, pineapple, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, cornstarch, which is used to thicken it.

PICARONES

It is very common to find food stalls in the man streets and parks that cook and sell picarones, a traditional dessert to go for Peruvians. They are the Peruvian version of doughnuts, drenched in syrup called “chancaca”.

On 22 noviembre, 2021 • By magicalblog

Peru• Travel Tips• What to do

Five Places to buy a Delicious Turron de Doña Pepa

October is the “mes morado” in Lima, it can be translated in English as “purple month”, and it is a holy month to celebrate the Señor de los Milagros, one of the most important religious festivals in the country. You can notice people dressed in purple as an offer to the patron during the month. A traditional sweet eaten during the Señor de Los Milagros celebration is the traditional Turrón de Doña Pepa. The turrón has become Peruvian family’s favorite treat and also travelers and expats love it.

In October the turron starts appearing in the pastry shop’s shelves, in the grocery stores, in the food stalls. It’s a sticky anise-flavored pastry, filled with “chancaca” syrup (a sort of honey) and topped with colorful candies and sprinkles. It’s a sort of eternal dessert, Peruvians love traditions!

Here a list of places where you can buy a delicious turrón de Doña Pepa if you happen to be in Peru in October.

Pastelería San Martín

This historic pastry shop is located very close to the Plaza San Martín, it was open in 1930 and it is a mandatory stop if you want to taste a delicious turron de Doña Pepa in Lima’s downtown.

Pastelería Italo

This pastry shop is also very old, it was opened 40 years ago in Magdalena district in Lima, today it also has a branch in Callao Monumental. It offers a wide variety of tasty desserts, but it is its turron de Doña Pepa the most delicious and popular dessert on its menu.

Antigua Panadería Huérfanos de Lima

The turron de Doña Pepa of this traditional pastry shop stands out for its dough and flavor, which makes the shop a mandatory stop during the “purple month”. The place is located in Lima downtown.

Turron Isabel

Made with fruit honey and an original recipe since 1947, this turrón de Doña Pepa is one of the most traditional in Lima downtown.

La Bonbonniere

This place has become another favorite of Limeños to taste their turrón de Doña Pepa. The dough and the syrup used create a perfect combination of flavors, which will make you want to try more. You can find La Bonbonniere in several Lima’s district.

On 4 noviembre, 2021 • By magicalblog