Viva Lomo Saltado!!!

I always wondered the reason behind our so many differences, and after this much walking and traveling to distant places and meeting people from all around the world and all walks of life; with great pleasure I discovered we are not that different, but if we weren’t different, this world would be a very dull place.

I think, with the heart of a child, that sometime, somewhere back in our distant history we were one people, one culture, one language ... and maybe we did something to deserve this kind of separation and ended up populating the world and rediscovering it at the same time.

And there we went on through this long process of making ourselves a place on this earth and connecting to it, developing our traditions and different forms of expressions, from which cuisine I think, is clearly one of those forms of cultural expression more evident.

Then, after living for generations each of our groups growing in their own corners, we decided to venture beyond our borders, ones to invade, and others to conquer by force or assimilation; but in the end, the mixture was given.

And the mingling took many generations, lots! And how many individuals or groups were there back then, and still are today, who faced this with horror and disgust at the fact that us all, of “Inga and Mandingo” have a little… or a lot.

But blessed be this hodgepodge! I think what would have happened if there were no Asians, Africans, Latinos, whites, etc. and all in between. In short, the list is endless. We would be looking at each other faces, the same faces, bored, probably fighting a little bit less (though I doubt it ...) but with no challenges at all.

All this gush of ideas popped into my head right at the moment I grabbed my cutting board, my super sharp knife and a good meat to make one of my favorite dishes: the Lomo Saltado! It sounds crazy, but I must say, where else you can cut a good beef, marinate it with balsamic vinegar (sounds very Italian), add fresh herbs (very French), and fry it along with onions and tomatoes in slightly soy sauce in a wok pan (very oriental), accompanied by a side of French fries (very north American); just to finalize it with our delicious sweet and spicy Peruvian yellow peppers.

I toss it and mix it, and rejoice in the smell of history, diversity and traditions that came from all over the world to fusion and age in that piece of land bathed by the Pacific Ocean where we all received, with gratitude, the charms of all those cultures, and where magically, under an Andean tune, we cooked the best dishes that today bring us together, to sit at the table to laugh, enjoy and love.

That is what our cuisine means for us Peruvians. Is a mystical experience, is an encounter with this identity we thought once lost. Is a deep knowing in our hearts that our history is magnificent and that our future is even better. Is to recognize in others the contribution that today gives us the gift of our country’s individuality that charms the world and at the same time makes us another wonderful ingredient of that fabulous dish called Humanity.