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Guiso carrero
Guiso carrero: Corrientes one-pot stew of rice, dried beef, onion and peppers, the old ox-cart drivers' meal
The carreros who hauled goods across Corrientes in ox carts needed food that kept for weeks, so they cooked rice in a single pot with charqui, sun-dried salted beef, plus whatever onion and pepper they carried. The guiso is still made in Corrientes homes and at country gatherings: rice swollen in a paprika-tinted broth, stringy shreds of beef with a deep, cured flavour, and a texture somewhere between a soupy risotto and a pilaf. Eat it hot from the pot with bread or chipá. Charqui is sold in Latin American shops; Brazilian carne seca works the same way. Forgetting to soak the dried beef is the classic mistake: it stays leathery and turns the whole pot too salty. Chef's tip: fry the soaked, shredded charqui in the oil before the vegetables; the caramelised edges give the broth its smoky depth. Plan for an overnight soak.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
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Fresh ingredients (4)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: The night before, cover 9 oz charqui with plenty of cold water and leave it in the fridge, changing the water twice. It should feel softer and taste only mildly salty.
Step 2: Drain, cut into small pieces and pull them apart into shreds. Discard any hard fat.
Step 3: Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy pot over a medium-high heat and fry the charqui, stirring, until the edges crisp and brown.
6 minStep 4: Add 2 onions, 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper, lower the heat to medium and cook until soft.
8 minStep 5: Stir in 3 cloves garlic, 2 tomatoes, 2 tsp sweet paprika, ½ tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano and 1 bay leaf and cook until the tomato breaks down.
4 minStep 6: Add 10 ½ oz long-grain rice and stir for a minute to coat it in the oil, then pour in 4 ¼ cups hot water. Bring to the boil, cover and cook over a low heat, stirring now and then, until the rice is tender and the stew is thick but still loose.
25 minStep 7: Taste, adding ½ tsp salt only if needed. Rest for 5 minutes and serve topped with 2 spring onion if you like.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 70 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does guiso carrero take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 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 onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of red pepper?
- Any colour of bell pepper, same amount.
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