Most who know me know that when I fell in love with my husband, I also fell in love with his food. He and his Peruvian family managed to charm me from day one with their Ceviche, Seco, Causa, and Huancaina. It’s been a revelation in dining.

And so, recently, I tried my Cuban hand at recreating one of these Peruvian dishes. I’m relieved to be able to say I didn’t bring shame to anyone’s culture with my first attempt at making Seco de Res (also referred to as Seco de Carne). So here’s the very simple recipe I followed with pics to guide you along the way. Best of luck to you first-timers and let me know how it goes for you!

Also, for those of you who may not be as “adept” in the culinary arts, you can just call on my mother-in-law for some amazing home-cooked Peruvian food delivered to your doorstep.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Stew Beef
• 2 stalks of cilantro
• 3-5 jalepeño peppers or aji Amarillo.
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 1 yellow onion (chopped)
• 1 cube of beef bouillon
• 3-4 potatoes chopped into 1” squares
• Extra virgin olive oil
• All-seasoning
• Salt

Preparation

Remove stems from cilantro. Chop jalepeño peppers and mix with cilantro in a blender with 2 tbsp of olive oil and very little water (less than ½ cup). You want it to be somewhat thick.

In a large pan heat olive oil then add chopped onions with garlic and cook on low heat until onions are caramelized. Add beef bouillon while cooking. Mix well.

Mix in beef, potatoes and cilantro mixture. Add salt and all-seasoning and cover pan. Cook for 30min-1hr stirring frequently to avoid burning beef.