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Yaguarlocro
Potato and lamb offal soup
Yaguarlocro: highland potato and lamb-offal soup with avocado and red onion
Yaguar is blood in Kichwa, and yaguarlocro is the Saturday soup of the markets of Ambato, Latacunga and Riobamba: a creamy potato broth cooked with lamb offal, cumin and achiote, crowned with avocado, sharp pickled red onion and, traditionally, crisp fried blood. Here the blood topping is optional; the soup is rich and complete without it. It is served at midday as a full meal. The usual mistake is blending the potatoes, which turns the soup gluey; let some break down by themselves and mash the rest lightly. Cook the offal until tender and the liver until no pink remains. Chef's tip: use half floury and half waxy potatoes, so the soup thickens yet keeps some soft chunks.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the offal
- 1 ½ lb mixed lamb offal (cleaned tripe, heart and liver)or 600 g lamb neck plus 150 g lamb liver
- 2.5 litres water
- 1 white onionhalved
- 4 cloves garliccrushed
For the locro
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp ground achiote (annatto)
- 1 white onionfinely chopped
- 3 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 ⅓ lb baking potatoesfloury type, peeled and diced
- 14 oz waxy potatoespeeled and diced
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh mintchopped
To serve
- 1 red onionthinly sliced
- 2 limesjuiced
- 1 tomatodiced
- 2 ripe avocadossliced
- 9 oz cooked lamb's blood (sangre cocida) (optional)from the butcher, crumbled
- 1 tbsp butter or oil (optional)for frying the blood
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Rinse 1 ½ lb mixed lamb offal (cleaned tripe, heart and liver) well. Put the tripe and heart (or the lamb neck) in a large pot with 2.5 litres water, 1 white onion, 4 cloves garlic and 2 bay leaves. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer for about 1 hour 15 minutes until tender. Add the liver for the last 15 minutes and cook until it is firm with no pink inside.
75 minStep 2: Lift out the meat, strain and keep 2 litres of the broth. Cut the offal (or the meat off the neck bones) into small bite-sized pieces.
Step 4: Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in the clean pot over a medium heat, add 1 tsp ground achiote (annatto), 1 white onion, 3 cloves garlic and 1 ½ tsp ground cumin and cook until soft and deep orange.
6 minStep 5: Add 1 ⅓ lb baking potatoes and 14 oz waxy potatoes and stir to coat, then pour in the broth and simmer for 25–30 minutes, until the floury potatoes have collapsed and the waxy ones are tender.
30 minStep 6: Crush some of the potatoes against the side of the pot with a spoon to thicken the soup. Stir in 1 cup whole milk, the meat and 2 tsp salt, and heat gently for 5 minutes without boiling hard.
5 minStep 7: If using the blood, fry 9 oz cooked lamb's blood (sangre cocida) in 1 tbsp butter or oil in a small pan over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes, until it is hot through and crisp at the edges.
5 minStep 8: Stir 2 tbsp fresh mint into the soup and ladle into bowls. Top each with avocado slices from 2 ripe avocados, a spoonful of pickled onion and the fried blood, if using.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does yaguarlocro take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 120 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 white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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