The L Word - As Corny as it Gets

In which we explore an Ecuadorian version of this classic South American stew

As I’ve now moved all my new posts over to here rather than on my two-decade old SaltShaker blog, as I go, I’m going to include some stuff that longtime readers might already know. Apologies if you’ve read some bits and bobs before. I promise not to overdo it.

Locro is a stew, a classic, staple dish that, while often associated with Argentina, is far more widespread. Versions of locro can be found throughout South America, particularly anywhere that there's an influence from the cultures that spoke (or speak) the Quechua language. In fact, locro is a name derived from the Quechua “ruqru” or “luqru”, which originally was a traditional stew centered around the papa chola, a particular type of potato with bright yellow flesh and a pinkish skin, but over time has come to refer to a wide variety of stews generally, though not always, based on potato and corn or beans.

There are dozens and dozens of recipes from virtually all of the South American countries for different types of locro, and a few years back I started yet another project to cook a wide variety of them. The L Word project is… tracked, I suppose, back on the blog.

Today we’re headed off on a third version from Ecuador - the two previous ones being a potato, yellow chili, and cheese one that’s among my favorite potato soups, and a shrimp, potato, and corn version. This version is vegetarian, though not vegan, as it’s dairy heavy!

This is a relatively simple recipe to make, and only took about half an hour. It makes for a rich, creamy soup and was perfect on a recent rainy evening. Our ingredients are potatoes, an onion, carrot, some garlic cloves, fresh sweet corn, milk, fresh cheese, butter, salt, pepper, and something for, basically, color - either achiote or sweet paprika.

Chop the onions and garlic and over low to medium heat, sauté them in the butter for about five minutes, until soft and turning translucent.

Dice the potatoes and add to the pot, continue to cook another five minutes or so, just to lightly color the surface of the potatoes. I’m not convinced this adds much to the final flavor, but seems to be tradition.

Chop the carrots and cut the corn kernels off the cobs (you could also just use a package of thawed, frozen corn). Add to the pot along with the milk, which should be just enough to almost cover the vegetables. Add the seasonings as well. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to very low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about half an hour, until the vegetables are all very soft.

Optional at this point, but most recipes recommended, use a potato masher, or a stick blender, and just coarsely mash the potatoes, or pulse a couple of times with the latter. You don’t want a puree, we’re just trying to make the liquid nice and thick.

Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. Be fairly vigorous, you really want it almost dissolved into the soup. You can also add some chopped herbs at this point - parsley or cilantro are common - but it’s more for color and presentation than anything else. I had some fresh basil and tossed that in. Check your seasoning, adjust if need be.

And, serve it up!

Absolutely delicious. We had a friend over for dinner, and the three of us polished off the entire pot.