Peru Recipe Information from RealPeru - Click to go back to our travel guide.

THREE COURSES AND A COCKTAIL FROM REAL Peru!

Whether you've been on one of our holidays in Peru and want to try and re-create your favourite dishes or whether you'd like to try out some of the dishes before you go on your Peru holiday, we thought you'd like these recipes to you can have a taste of Peru in the UK. Where we know it's hard to find authentic Peruvian ingredients in the UK we've tried to come up with alternatives although obviously it's never quite the same... maybe a RealPeru deli should be next on the cards!

So, without further ado: here's a three-course meal for you to try on your (un?)willing guests! The measurements are for four depending on appetite and it's a classic Limeño menu which won't take long to prepare or cook but should make sure everyone goes home happy - if nothing else, the pisco sour should take care of that!

LA ENTRADA - Ceviche de Pescado (Fish ceviche)

This is the Peruvian starter par excellence, consisting of white fish cured in lemon/lime juice and chilli sauce, and served with sweet potato and a red onion and tomato salad. You will need:

• 1 red pepper
• 2 small red birdseye chillis
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 large red onion
• 1kg white fish - hake is fine
• 2 cloves of garlic
• plenty of fresh coriander
• A few broad lettuce leaves
• 3 or 4 sweet potatoes
• Either 8-10 Peruvian lemons or
• 1/2pt (250ml) fresh lime juice and 2 'british' lemons

Instructions for the ceviche:

1. Cut the fish into small pieces, chop the garlic and chilli very finely.
2. Leave the fish to marinate in the lemon, lime, garlic and chilli for about 40 mins.
3. Meanwhile, finely chop the coriander and cut the onion and red pepper into thin strips
4. After the initial 40 mins, add the coriander, etc. to the marinade and leave for another 40 mins.

Instructions for the salad (prepare while the ceviche is marinading):

1. Peel and boil the sweet potatoes. Cut in half and leave to cool
2. Finely dice the tomatoes.
3. Once the marinading is finished, retrieve the onion and red pepper and mix with the tomatoes

Serving Instructions

1. Serve the ceviche and salad on a thin bed of lettuce and spoon the marinade juices on top.
2. Add the cold sweet potatoes to the plate.

EL SEGUNDO - Lomo Saltado

This is a similar idea to a stir-fry so it's really quick to prepare once you have all your ingredients ready. The recipe calls for both chips and rice so be careful not to overdo it. The chips are an intrinsic part of the dish so don't try and get all healthy and cut them out! You will need:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 medium red onions
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 red pepper
• About 500g of sirloin steak
• Rice for 4 people
• Enough potatoes for chips for 2/3 people (this is deliberate!)
• 1 medium-strength red chilli (if you can't get aji)
• good pinch of oregano
• dash of red wine or dessert wine

Instructions

1. Chip and fry the potatoes (don't use oven chips: it's just not the same...) and put to one side for the moment.
2. Finely chop the chilli and garlic.
3. Put the rice on, adding 1/3 of the garlic (a pilau-style cooking method is good for Peruvian-style rice if you have time).
4. While the rice is cooking, cut the steak into thin strips about 5cm long and chop the onions, tomatoes and pepper into good-sized chunks.
5. This should take about 10mins, meaning you have about 10mins before the rice is ready: this is perfect.
6. Heat the oil in a wok or similar. Add the rest of the garlic, then the steak strips and a dash of wine and cook until browned.
7. Next add the onion, pepper, tomatoes and oregano. Maybe another slug of wine as well!
8. Give it a stir, turn it onto a medium-low heat, cover and leave for 5 minutes or so - DO NOT let it over cook!

Serving Instructions

1. Create a kind of volcano of rice on the plate.
2. Add the chips to the pan and heat quickly
3. Spoon the food and sauce into the 'crater of the volcano'

POSTRE - Arroz con leche (Rice pudding!)

To finish off, a small rice pudding! A doddle to prepare and served cold so you don't have to worry about timing! You will need:

• 500g long grain rice
• 1 1/2pts semi-skimmed milk
• 1/2pt evaporated milk
• 100g sugar
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• Good handful or raisins
• Brandy if you have it
• Vanilla extract
• Ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Soak the rice in hot water for 10 mins
2. Drain and put in a high-sided pan with a lid. Add about 2/3 of the semi-skimmed milk and stir.
3. Cover, and bring the mixture to the boil. Once the mixture is boiling, place the pan in a pre-heated oven (180C, Gas Mark 4) for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the oven. The milk should be completely absorbed by the rice.
5. While the pan is in the oven, heat the remaining cup of semi-skimmed milk in another pan, adding the cinnamon stick, evaporated milk and sugar. Leave barely simmering for 5 minutes.
6. Add the raisins, vanilla extract and brandy to taste. Leave to simmer for another ten minutes.
7. Add the rice from the first pan, and cook, stirring often, for five minutes.

Serving Instructions

1. Spoon into small bowls and leave to cool. Serve cool/cold.

AND TO FINISH - A Pisco Sour

Pisco is the definitive Peruvian drink. A clear brandy, it can be drunk neat but is usually used in cocktails such as algorrobina or this, the classic Peruvian cocktail! We're afraid to say that if you can't get Pisco - and it is maddeningly hard in the UK - then you might have to wait until you get back as nothing else quite cuts it... For this cocktail, you will need:

• 3 glasses Pisco Puro
• 1 1/2 glasses sugar
• 1 egg white
• Crunched-up ice cubes
• Angostura bitters
• Powdered cinnamon
• Either: 2 Glasses fresh Peruvian lemon juice
• Or: 1 glass lime juice and 1 glass 'british' lemon juice

Instructions

1. Add the Pisco and egg-white to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.
2. In the shaker add the ice cubes and stir until you can see the ice start to melt.
3. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir in slowly until the ice has just melted.

Serving Instructions

1. Serve in wide glasses with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top and a drop of bitters.

Thanks to the staff at El Pollo Pechugon, Calle Porta, Miraflores for the Lomo Saltado recipe!

To find out about our holidays in Peru click here