Easy Peruvian Recipes at Home:

Easy Peruvian recipes come down to five dishes I cook on rotation at home: lomo saltado, roast chicken with green sauce, aji de gallina, papa a la huancaina, and ceviche. Each one uses supermarket ingredients and the flavours that make Peruvian home cooking so generous: lime, chilli heat, garlic, cumin and fresh coriander. Start with the lomo saltado if you want dinner in 30 minutes, and make the ceviche on a Saturday when you can buy really fresh fish.

Key takeaways

• Five approachable dishes cover the whole Peruvian home table: one stir fry, one roast, one creamy chicken, one potato starter and one raw fish classic.
• Aji amarillo chilli paste is the one special ingredient worth buying; everything else comes from a normal UK supermarket.
• Lomo saltado cooks in a ripping hot pan in under 10 minutes once the chips are ready.
• Ceviche needs sushi grade or previously frozen fish, because lime juice does not make raw fish safe on its own.
• The green sauce and the huancaina sauce both keep for 3 days in the fridge, so one batch covers two meals.

The small Peruvian pantry

Easy Peruvian recipes rely on a short list of basics: yellow potatoes, red onion, garlic, lime, fresh chillies, coriander, cumin, oregano, evaporated milk and salty white cheese. The one jar I order online is aji amarillo paste, a fruity yellow chilli paste with gentle warmth. If you cannot find it, use a finely chopped yellow pepper plus half a scotch bonnet. If you enjoy Latin flavours on the grill too, my carne asada marinade uses the same lime, garlic and cumin backbone.

1. Lomo saltado (beef stir fry with chips)

This is Peru on a plate: strips of beef flash fried with onion, tomato and soy sauce, then tossed with chips and served over rice.

Ingredients, serves 4

• 600 g beef steak, cut into thick strips (sirloin or rump both work well)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce, plus 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 large red onion, cut into thick wedges
• 3 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 tbsp aji amarillo paste, or 1 mild red chilli, sliced
• 500 g oven chips, cooked until crisp, and cooked white rice to serve
• Fresh coriander, chopped, and 2 spring onions, sliced

Method

1. Marinate the beef in the soy sauce, vinegar, cumin and oregano for 15 minutes while the chips cook.
2. Heat a wok or large frying pan until it smokes. Sear the beef in two batches for about 2 minutes per batch, then set it aside with its juices.
3. Fry the onion in the same pan for 2 minutes so it softens at the edges but keeps its bite. Add the tomato wedges and the chilli paste and cook for 1 minute more.
4. Return the beef and its juices to the pan, toss everything for 30 seconds, then fold through the hot chips. Scatter over coriander and spring onion, and serve at once over rice.

Choose a flavourful cut and slice it thick so it stays juicy in the fierce heat. My guide to the best cut of steak explains why sirloin and rump beat expensive fillet in a stir fry like this.

2. Peruvian roast chicken with green sauce

Pollo a la brasa is the Sunday roast of Peru: a chicken rubbed with cumin, paprika and garlic, roasted until the skin turns deep bronze, and dragged through a fiery green sauce of coriander, jalapeno and lime.

Ingredients, serves 4

• 1 whole chicken, about 1.6 kg
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp olive oil, 4 garlic cloves crushed, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano, salt and pepper
• For the sauce: 1 large bunch coriander, 2 jalapenos or green chillies, 1 garlic clove, 3 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt, juice of 1 lime

Method

1. Mix the rub ingredients into a paste and coat the chicken inside and out. Rest it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
2. Roast at 190°C (375°F) for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until the juices run clear and a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 74°C (165°F). Rest for 15 minutes.
3. Blitz the sauce ingredients until smooth and bright green. Carve the chicken and serve it with chips, salad and generous spoonfuls of the sauce.

3. Aji de gallina (creamy shredded chicken)

This gentle, golden stew tastes like Peruvian comfort food at its best: poached chicken folded into a creamy sauce of bread, milk, walnuts and aji amarillo, served with rice and boiled potatoes.

Ingredients, serves 4

• 600 g chicken breast or thigh, poached and shredded (keep 250 ml of the poaching stock)
• 3 slices white bread, crusts removed, soaked in 200 ml evaporated milk
• 1 onion, finely diced, and 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp aji amarillo paste, 40 g walnuts ground, 40 g parmesan grated
• Boiled potatoes, rice, black olives and a boiled egg, to serve

Method

1. Soften the onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes. Stir in the aji paste and cook for 1 minute.
2. Blitz the soaked bread with the milk until smooth, then add it to the pan with the stock, walnuts and parmesan. Simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon.
3. Fold in the shredded chicken and warm it through for 3 minutes. Serve over potatoes with rice, olives and egg quarters on top.

4. Papa a la huancaina (potatoes in spicy cheese sauce)

The classic Peruvian starter: cold boiled potatoes under a glossy, spicy cheese sauce. I use feta in place of Peruvian queso fresco, and it works beautifully.

Ingredients, serves 4 as a starter

• 800 g waxy potatoes, boiled in their skins and sliced thick
• 150 g feta cheese, 120 ml evaporated milk, 2 tbsp aji amarillo paste
• 4 saltine style crackers, 1 small garlic clove, 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Lettuce leaves, black olives and a boiled egg, to serve

Method

1. Blitz the feta, milk, aji paste, crackers, garlic and oil until the sauce pours like double cream. Add a splash more milk if it stands in peaks.
2. Chill the sauce for 30 minutes so the flavour settles. Arrange the warm or room temperature potato slices on lettuce, pour the cold sauce over, and finish with olives and egg.

5. Ceviche, with proper care

Peru’s national dish is raw fish cured in lime juice with red onion, chilli and coriander, served with sweet potato and corn. The lime firms the fish and makes it taste cooked, but acid does not kill parasites or bacteria, so buy fish sold for raw eating, or use fish that has been frozen first. The FDA guide to selecting and serving seafood safely explains the freezing rules clearly.

Ingredients, serves 4 as a starter

• 500 g sea bass or sea bream fillets, skinned, cut into cubes of 2 cm
• Juice of 8 limes, 1 small red onion sliced very fine and rinsed, 1 red chilli finely sliced
• Fresh coriander, chopped, and flaky salt
• Cooked sweet potato slices and corn, to serve

Method

1. Salt the fish, then pour over the lime juice and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes only, until the outside turns opaque. Longer baths turn the texture chalky.
2. Drain off half the juice, fold in the onion, chilli and coriander, and serve at once with the sweet potato and corn.

Putting a menu together

For a first night of easy Peruvian recipes at home, I serve huancaina potatoes to start, lomo saltado as the main, and the green sauce from the chicken recipe on the side for chip dipping. For a bigger table, my guide to good sides for steak has the salads and potatoes that sit happily next to every dish here. That is the joy of easy Peruvian recipes: one small pantry, five very different plates.

FAQs

What can I use instead of aji amarillo paste?

Use a chopped yellow pepper with half a scotch bonnet for heat, or a spoon of mild chilli sauce plus a pinch of turmeric for colour. The flavour shifts a little, but every recipe here still works.

Is ceviche safe to make at home?

Yes, with the right fish. Buy fish labelled for raw consumption, or freeze it first according to food safety guidance, because lime juice firms the flesh but does not sterilise it. Serve ceviche fresh and never keep leftovers.

Can I make these recipes less spicy for children?

Yes. Halve the aji paste in the aji de gallina and the huancaina sauce, and leave the fresh chilli out of the ceviche and the green sauce.

What rice do Peruvians serve with lomo saltado?

Plain white rice, often cooked with a little garlic and oil. The rice soaks up the stir fry sauce, and the chips go on top of everything.

Where do I buy Peruvian ingredients in the UK?

Evaporated milk, feta, jalapenos and limes sit in every big supermarket. Aji amarillo paste comes from online Latin food shops and some world food aisles, and one jar lasts for months in the fridge.