I am a lucky woman! My husband is from Peru and he likes to cook and every so often he treats me to some authentic Peruvian cooking.

My favorites are:

• Ceviche- a cold seafood dish. It can be made with fish, shrimp, squid and mussels
• Lomo Saltado- Steak, rice, tomatoes, green peppers & potatoes
• Papa rellena- (stuffed potato)- beef, olives, onions, eggs
• Arroz con pollo- chicken and rice

***In every Peruvian recipe that you see it call for Aji Amarillo( yellow pepper) you may substitute Jalapeno or any kind of hot pepper, of course it's better and more authentic using the Aji pepper which you can buy at most ethnic or cultural grocery stores now. If not there, are websites available to order jars of the paste( the best) or cans of the peppers themselves.)

Almost everything he makes involves potatoes!

It only makes sense since Peru is after all the origin of the potato ( and you thought it was Idaho!)

Everything is washed down with big glass of Inca Kola !

Main dish-6 servings-Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients

2 pounds of beef tenderloin or other tender steak

2 tablespoons of crushed garlic

2 medium onions cut in strips

4 tomatoes, seeds removed, pureed in blender( we just slice ours)

5 potatoes peeled and cut into strips for frying( we've been known to use frozen french fries cooked in oil)

1 jalapeno pepper cut into thin strips( we use Aji pepper or Aji paste)

1 tablespoon of vinegar

Vegetable oil for frying

Salt and pepper

Finely chopped parsley

Preparation

1. Cut beef into thin strips

2. Cook garlic in oil over medium heat and add meat. Reserve the juice.

3. Add the tomato puree( or tomatos), salt and pepper. Cook a few minutes

4. Add onion, Aji, parsley and vinegar. Combine the juice from the meat

5. Fry the potatoes( or french fries) in a separate pan and add to other ingredients

6. Serve over white rice

Main dish-8 servings-Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients

8 small boneless and skinless chicken breasts

2 cloves of fresh garlic

1 onion finely chopped

½ cup vegetable or olive oil

3 cups rice (not instant)

5 cups chicken bullion

1 cup cilantro and 1 cup water chopped in blender(drain water after blending)

½ pound cooked peas ( we use canned peas)

Aji Paste or Aji peppers( cut into strips) to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Sauté salted and peppered chicken breasts in oil until browned and cooked completely and remove. In the same oil, cook the garlic and onion till tender

2. Combine the chicken to the garlic and onion. Add the cilantro and bullion and boil. Add the rice and Aji peppers. Cook over medium heat till liquid is absorbed. Add peas and continue to simmer over low heat until rice is cooked

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh white fish, cut into small pieces or Shrimp or both!

½ Cup of fresh lime juice

1 fresh Aji pepper, minced( we use Aji Paste)

1-3 cloves of garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into strips

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Marinate the fish( shrimp) in the lime juice for 4-6 hours in the fridge. This "cooks" the fish and makes it safe to eat.

After about 2 hours of marinating, add the garlic, Aji, onion, cilantro, oil & salt and pepper and stir well. ( some people like to add tomatoes too)

Serve on a bed of lettuce

For a traditional serving, arrange cold pieces of cooked sweet potato and slices of corn on the cob around the dish.