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Potato and cheese with Ecuadorian flavour

Soup recipe from south of the equator this week
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Something quite different this week. My sister just came back from Ecuador and she brought this recipe back.

Ecuadorian Locro ( Potato and Cheese Soup)

Cook 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic, minced in 2 tbsp. Oil with 2 tsp. Cumin and 1 tsp. Achiote powder.

Add 10 med. Potatoes peeled and chopped into small and larger pieces. Cook for 5 mins.

Add 7 cups water and boil until potatoes are tender. Mash the potatoes with the liquid. Result should not be smooth – leave sm lumps of potato intact.

Turn heat to low and stir in 1 cup of milk ( more if too thick). Cook 5 mins. Salt to taste.

Add 1 cup queso fresco crumbled or grated and 1 bunch of cilantro leaves. Remove from heat.

Serve with additional Queso Fresco, cilantro, chopped green onion, chopped avocado and hot sauce to taste.

Note: This recipe makes enough for 10 – 12 people, but you can half it if you like. If Queso Fresco 9 Spanish semi-soft fresh cheese) is not available, substitute a bland grated cheese. Ricotto would also be suitable, particularly the German variety which is packed in plastic like a block of butter. if you can’t find Achiote powder you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika.

Donna’s Lemon Curd for Pie or Tarts

Whisk 2 large eggs plus two yolks. Rub grated rind of 2 lemons into ¾ cup sugar and whisk in. Add just of 2 lemons and whisk until smooth.

Cook at power 1 in microwave, whisking every 20 seconds, for 1-1/2 minutes or until mixture coats back of the spoon.

Remove and whisk in 6 tbsp cold butter cut into 6 pieces. Pour into cooled crust(s) and allow to set for a couple of hours.

Dora Miner is a local cook and baker who writes a regular column for The Wetaskiwin Pipestone Flyer.