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Guatita
Guatita: Guayaquil's tender tripe and potato stew in creamy peanut sauce
In Guayaquil, guatita is the dish people seek out on a Sunday morning or after a long night: honeycomb tripe simmered until meltingly tender, then stewed with potatoes in a creamy peanut and milk sauce coloured with achiote. It is served with white rice, avocado, fried ripe plantain and a sharp red-onion curtido. Peanuts are a major allergen. The most common mistake is undercooking the tripe, which stays rubbery; it needs about 2½ hours of simmering (45 minutes in a pressure cooker). Chef's tip: buy cleaned, blanched tripe and still give it a scrub with lime and salt before cooking; it freshens the flavour.
- Total time
- 195 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the tripe
- 2 ¼ lb cleaned honeycomb beef tripe
- 2 limeshalved
- 2 tbsp coarse saltfor scrubbing
- 3 litres water
- 1 white onionhalved
- 4 cloves garlic
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp ground achiote (annatto)
- 1 white onionfinely chopped
- 1 red pepperfinely chopped
- 3 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 ⅓ lb waxy potatoespeeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp fresh corianderchopped
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rub 2 ¼ lb cleaned honeycomb beef tripe all over with 2 limes and 2 tbsp coarse salt, then rinse very well in cold water.
10 minStep 2: Put it in a large pot with 3 litres water, 1 white onion, 4 cloves garlic and 2 bay leaves. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer gently for about 2½ hours, topping up with water, until a knife slides through the tripe easily.
150 minStep 3: Lift out the tripe, keep 750 ml of the cooking liquid and cut the tripe into 2 cm pieces.
Step 4: Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add 1 tsp ground achiote (annatto), 1 white onion, 1 red pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp dried oregano and cook until soft.
6 minStep 5: Add 1 ⅓ lb waxy potatoes, the tripe and the cooking liquid, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are just tender.
15 minStep 6: Whisk 5 ½ oz smooth unsweetened peanut butter into 1 ¼ cups whole milk until smooth, stir into the pan with 1 ½ tsp salt and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce is creamy and thick. Don't let it boil hard or it can catch and split.
10 minStep 7: Stir in 3 tbsp fresh coriander and serve with rice, avocado and curtido.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 460 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does guatita take?
- About 195 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 165 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of limes?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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