Lomo Saltado – A Peruvian Beef Stir-fry

First set your oven to 450 F.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into strips like if you were making French fries. Essentially that’s exactly what you’re doing. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Add one Tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan, add the potatoes, and coat the potatoes with oil- just enough to lightly coat – one Tablespoon should be more than enough. Put the cookie sheet in the oven and cook the fries until they’re nice and golden brown (probably about 20 minutes, but keep an eye and keep them in the oven until they are nice and crisp).

While the potatoes cook, slice up the flank steak into thin strips, cutting against the grain. Add a little olive oil to a deep pan, turn the heat to high and begin sauteing the beef once the pan is really really hot. Don’t add any salt yet because you will add soy sauce later and the dish may be too salty if you do both. You’ll also want to add the meat in small batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan and get a braising effect – we’re going for a nice sear for this dish. Once you cook the beef through, transfer it to a holding plate (with any juices) and set aside.

Now begin slicing your onion, peppers, and tomatoes into long thin strips. Grate your garlic at this time too. Add a little olive oil to the pan that you cooked your beef in (you may not need more oil) and then transfer the peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic to the pan and saute on high heat. Once the veggies are tender, add the beef (and any juices) back into the pan, mixing it well with the veggies.

In a separate bowl combine the white wine, ketchup, lime juice and soy sauce. I know it sounds weird, but it works… just trust me on this one. Add the sauce to the pan with the veggies and meat and combine it well. Now would be a good time to taste for salt. Add a little salt if necessary. Add the parsley to the pan reserving about 1 Tablespoon for the garnish at the end. The potatoes should be done by now. You’ll want them to be nice and golden brown before transferring them to the pan. Once ready, toss the potatoes into the pan, mixing gently as to not crush the potatoes.

Serve with white rice and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.