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Locro de papa
Potato and cheese soup
Ecuadorian highland potato soup with achiote, milk and melting fresh cheese, topped with avocado
Locro de papa is Quito's comfort soup, eaten on cold afternoons in the Andean highlands where nights drop near freezing. Potatoes are cooked until half of them dissolve into a thick, achiote-tinted broth, then finished with milk and cubes of fresh cheese that soften into strings. Bowls are crowned with avocado slices and served with ají (chilli sauce) on the side. Ecuador uses two potatoes, a floury one to thicken and a waxy one to hold its shape. Chef's tip: add the cheese off the heat; it should soften and go stretchy, not melt into an oily layer.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp achiote (annatto) oil or ground annattoor 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 3 spring onionswhite parts chopped, greens sliced for serving
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ⅓ lb potatoesfloury, peeled, in 2 cm cubes
- 14 oz waxy potatoespeeled, in 2 cm cubes
- 5 cups water or vegetable stock
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 ½ oz queso fresco, paneer or mild fetain 1 cm cubes
- 1 tsp saltto taste
- 2 tbsp fresh corianderchopped
- 1 avocadosliced
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Melt 2 tbsp butter with 1 tsp achiote (annatto) oil or ground annatto in a large pot over a medium heat. Add 1 onion and the white parts of 3 spring onions and cook for 6 minutes until soft and stained orange. Add 2 cloves garlic and 1 tsp ground cumin and stir for 1 minute.
7 minStep 2: Add 1 ⅓ lb potatoes and stir for 2 minutes to coat them in the coloured fat.
2 minStep 3: Add 5 cups water or vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes start to fall apart.
15 minStep 4: Add 14 oz waxy potatoes and simmer for 10–12 minutes until tender. Mash the soup a few times with a potato masher in the pot, so it thickens but still has chunks.
12 minStep 5: Stir in 1 cup whole milk and heat until just steaming; don't let it boil hard. Season with 1 tsp salt. Common mistake: boiling after adding milk; it can split into grains.
Step 6: Take off the heat and stir in 5 ½ oz queso fresco, paneer or mild feta. Serve at once in bowls with 1 avocado, 2 tbsp fresh coriander and the spring onion greens on top, with chilli sauce on the side.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does locro de papa take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 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 vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- 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 butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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