Locro de papas
A creamy potato soup, golden with achiote, bound with fresh cheese and topped with avocado. The mother dish of Quiteño cuisine, simple and nourishing.
A creamy potato soup, golden with achiote, bound with fresh cheese and topped with avocado. The mother dish of Quiteño cuisine, simple and nourishing.
Come closer, and let me serve you a bowl of this locro as we made it in my father's house in Quito. We mashed the potatoes until they melted into the milk, tinted them gold with achiote, and hid the fresh cheese at the bottom so it would string under the spoon. It is a cuisine of patient women and cold mountains, my friend — I who have eaten the hard ration of the camps, I swear to you that no feast in Bogotá was worth this broth of my childhood.
- •Andean potatoes (several varieties) — a good armful (melting base)
- •Achiote (annatto) infused in lard — to desired color (color and aroma)
- •Fresh milk — enough to cover (binding)
- •Fresh mountain cheese — a piece (creaminess)
- •Long onion and garlic — equal parts (aromatic base)
- •Avocado — a few slices (garnish)
Locro de papas
A creamy potato soup, golden with achiote, bound with fresh cheese and topped with avocado. The mother dish of Quiteño cuisine, simple and nourishing.
Why this dish? Locro was the daily heart of the Creole table in Quito, Manuela's hometown. Rich and comforting, it was served every day in Andean homes: it is the very taste of her childhood in the viceroyalty, before arms and exile.
Come closer, and let me serve you a bowl of this locro as we made it in my father's house in Quito. We mashed the potatoes until they melted into the milk, tinted them gold with achiote, and hid the fresh cheese at the bottom so it would string under the spoon. It is a cuisine of patient women and cold mountains, my friend — I who have eaten the hard ration of the camps, I swear to you that no feast in Bogotá was worth this broth of my childhood.
Ingredients (period version)
- Andean potatoes (several varieties) — a good armful (melting base)
- Achiote (annatto) infused in lard — to desired color (color and aroma)
- Fresh milk — enough to cover (binding)
- Fresh mountain cheese — a piece (creaminess)
- Long onion and garlic — equal parts (aromatic base)
- Avocado — a few slices (garnish)
Ingredients
- Floury potatoes — 800 g (base)
- Oil + 1 tsp achiote (annatto) powder — 2 tbsp (colored refrito)
- Whole milk — 500 ml (binding)
- Fresh cheese (like queso fresco or mozzarella) — 150 g (creaminess)
- Onion + 2 garlic cloves — 1 large (refrito)
- Avocado — 1 (garnish)
- Fresh cilantro, salt — to taste (finishing)
Method
- Make a refrito: sweat the onion and garlic in oil with achiote until golden.
- Add cubed potatoes, cover with water, and cook until half-collapsed.
- Roughly mash a third of the potatoes in the soup to thicken it.
- Pour in the milk, lower the heat (do not boil), and salt.
- Off the heat, stir in diced fresh cheese so it slightly melts.
- Serve very hot, garnished with avocado slices and cilantro.
How it was made : In Andean kitchens, soup opened every meal and the locro was thickened not with cream but with fresh cheese and milk, with a refrito of achiote in lard for color. The chili (ají) was served separately, in a small bowl, so each person could adjust the heat.
The contemporary twist : Serve in warm verrines with a thin Andean potato chip planted in it, a nod to the many varieties of Quito's markets.
Sources : Julio Pazos Barrera, El sabor de la memoria: historia de la cocina quiteña
Manuela Sáenz · Charactorium
