8 ounce sirloin steak, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small red pepper, chopped
1 large potato, boiled and cubed
1 red chili pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet and sauté onion, garlic and bell pepper until tender.
2. Add the potato and cook, stirring occasionally, until potato just begins to brown.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, stir and cook for a minute or two for flavors to meld.
4. Serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings

2 six ounce pork chops
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon turmeric
salt and pepper

1/4 medium onion, sliced
1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup cilantro or parsley, stems removed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 jalapenos or aji peppers, stemmed and seeded
salt

1. Combine vinegar, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper and marinade pork chops overnight. Place onions in other vinegar and refrigerate overnight as well.
2. Remove the pork from the marinade and grill or fry them until cooked.
3. Pulse olive oil with jalapenos in a food processor. Gradually add cilantro or parsley until it forms a smooth green paste.
4. Garnish pork chops with pickled onions and prepared sauce.

Makes 2 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cauliflower flowerets
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper
water

1. Bring water to a boil in a pot and cook cauliflower until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Combine eggs, cumin, salt and pepper and mix in the cauliflower.
4. Fry the cauliflower in the skillet until the egg has cooked, about 5 minutes.

Makes 2 servings

I picked up a book on authentic Latin cuisine and in reading it I have discovered another plethora of edibles that I never knew existed. I can only hope to one day try them for myself and try to distinguish the different flavors of the seemingly endless array of hot peppers. When I first started this project one of my low-carb friends sent me a recipe for Peruvian Cauliflower. Naturally, it's a very low-carb recipe, and it's also quite easy to make. It's essentially cauliflower in a cumin and egg batter, which is tasty enough. I did some searching for more Peruvian recipes and discovered that, much like the results for my Brazilian Dinner, that the food is fairly basic. Flank steak, seafood, potatoes, corn and/or rice seem to comprise the majority of meals, often flavored with vinegar, aji peppers and black olives. Sweet potatoes and plantains make an appearance, as well as a lot of hard-cooked eggs.

The national dish of Peru is cebiche (ceviche, which is like pickled shrimp). Next in line seems to be roasted guinea pig. Following as a close third is Lomo Saltado, which is basically a beef stirfry. I prepared it without the beef, which is essentially like making egg salad without the eggs. It still holds up as a hearty side dish of slightly spicy potatoes with peppers and tomato. I included the recipe with beef, which is probably that much better.

The reason I didn't add the beef is because we were already having pork; Peruvian Pork with Aji, to be specific. I can't obtain actual aji peppers, but the recipe suggested I use jalapenos instead. The aji sauce is bright green and, although spicy, adds a nice light, palette cleansing brightness to the meat. The mildly pickled onions were also a nice touch. I grilled the pork and the spices (turmeric and cumin) made it taste not unlike the grilled Tandoori Chicken I made last month. The vinegar definitely helps to tenderize the meat without imposing a flavor upon it.