Papa rellena, meaning stuffed potato, is a traditional and popular dish full of Peruvian flavors which is eaten as starter, for lunch or dinner or in between, hot or cold. It’s one of these typical Peruvian comfort foods everyone loves and makes you feel at home. A must-eat.

Traditional Papas rellenas are made wrapping small portions of spicy ground beef, hard-boiled egg, olives and raisins in a mashed potato dough, which then is formed into an oval shape (like a small American football) and deep or pan fried until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Served with Salsa Criolla and sometimes rice a simple though delicious Peruvian dish is born.

This traditional creole dish represents, like no other, the unique fusion of different cultures, traditions and flavors that is so characteristic for today’s Peruvian cuisine.In the 19th century, masses of Chinese immigrants settled along the Peruvian coast to work in the booming agricultural sector. Like the Spanish conquerors, the Basques and African slaves before them, they brought their cooking culture and techniques as well as a few ingredients with them. Merging Peruvian ingredients such as potatoes, ajis and meat with the Chinese way of preparing food (finely slicing ingredients and rapidly stir frying them in a wok), Lomo Saltado was born.The traditional Lomo Saltado is prepared by stir frying sliced beef tenderloin, sirloin or fillet with red onions, tomatoes and aji amarillo adding soy sauce, vinegar and cilantro. Mixed with French fries and served with rice, Lomo Saltado is a great example of how foreign influences and cooking styles not only coexist next to the native, local cuisine, but melt in harmony creating new, enriched Peruvian flavors.And for some variation of this fantastic and beloved dish, the beef can be substituted with chicken breast (Pollo Saltado), pork loin (Lomo Saltado de Cerdo), shrimps (Camerones Saltado) or a mixture of seafood (Saltado de Mariscos). Delicious!Is your mouth already watering? So indulge in our quick and simple to prepare recipe for authentic Peruvian Lomo Saltado.All ingredients can be found easily, no matter where you are in the world; except for the aji amarillo. If you want to stay as authentic as possible and don’t live in Peru, try Latin American food stores around you or online shops. They usually carry aji amarillo in jars or frozen as well as aji amarillo paste that serves its purpose of giving this dish a mild spicy note. If you can’t get it, you can use any other mild yellow, orange or red chili pepper or even an orange bell pepper. The Pisco is optional and can easily be left out; I usually add it to my Lomo Saltado to give the dish this little extra Peruvian flavor.