Bolivian recipe
How to make Pique macho
Cochabamba

A mountain of chips topped with pieces of beef, sliced sausage, onion, tomato, green pepper and hot locoto pepper, with boiled egg, mustard and mayonnaise. One plate is big enough for two or more, and most people share.
Ingredients
- 600 g beef sirloin or rump, in bite-sized strips
- 4 frankfurter sausages, sliced
- 1 kg potatoes, cut into thick chips, and oil for frying
- 2 onions, cut into wedges
- 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 green pepper, in strips
- 1 or 2 hot chillies (locoto if you can find it), in strips
- 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon cumin, 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- Salt, mustard and mayonnaise to serve
Method
- Mix the beef with the garlic, cumin, soy sauce and a pinch of salt and leave for 20 minutes.
- Fry the chips until golden and crisp, drain and keep warm.
- In a large frying pan, brown the beef on a high heat, then add the sausages, onion, pepper and chilli and fry for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and a splash of water and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Pile the chips on a large platter, spoon the meat and its juices over them, and top with the eggs. Serve with mustard and mayonnaise.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
It is said to come from the El Prado restaurant in Cochabamba in the 1970s. The owner served late, hungry guests a very spicy plate and told them to eat it if they were 'machos', man enough.



