I know I have been taking the easy way out for a couple of weeks now when it comes to MKMW. Let me apologize. I should try harder. It was my silly brainchild, after all. India was a debacle. I got a few not so nice comments on my effort with that one. Well, one comment in particular really got to me. From Cold Green, whoever you may be. I tried to find you, as you seem to know your stuff…but I am not sure who you are. If anyone knows “Cold Green” – send them my way. I would like a do-over for India, but I need help. I want to try something Authentically Indian. But no fish. And no vegetarian. And no spices you can’t get in a podunk town, if possible. And no weird parts of an animal. Something they actually sell at my grocery store. I hope that isn’t too limiting. Cold Green?? Help??
Okay. Onto Ecuador.
Shelby chose our country for week FIFTEEN. Wow. Fifteen countries. That’s pretty darn cool, even if I did make my Indian fudge in the microwave. I imagine someone in India has a microwave and they use it when terribly busy. But I digress.
For my Ecuadoran Recipe I chose Locro. The weather has really been turning this week, getting crisp and cool and this potato soup really hit the spot. It was even better the second day. Not sure why it is all that Ecuadoran, but I followed the recipe to the letter, and so that COUNTS.
According to
Whats4Eats, the pretty cool site where I found this authentic recipe, “Locro is a nourishing potato-cheese soup that is popular in Ecuador and Peru. A soup with the same name is found in Argentina, but Argentine locro is a vegetable and meat stew.” All the same to me. This soup was warm and cheesy, perfect for cool weather. My only suggestion is that you should use a cheese that has more intense flavor than the mozzerella, as it was a bit mild. I added some extra spice and a little bit of grated jack the second day to kick it up a notch…that really helped.
Ecuadoran Locro
from Whats4Eats.com
4-6 servings
Oil or butter — 1/4 cup
Onion, minced — 1/2
Garlic, minced — 3-4 cloves
Potatoes, peeled and diced — 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
Water or stock — 4 cups
Milk — 1 cup
Salt and pepper — to taste
Muenster, queso fresco or mozzarella cheese, shredded — 1 cup
Heat the oil or butter over medium flame in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic and simmer until the onion is translucent.
Stir in the potatoes, water or stock, milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are falling apart, 30-45 minutes. Mash the potatoes up a bit with the back of a spoon to thicken the soup, leaving it a little chunky.
Remove the soup from heat and stir in the cheese. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.
So where will we go next week? Who knows? Until then, check out what the other traveling chefs made for Ecuador!
Now, I am off to the VT Hokie Homecoming game – we’re taking Seven, so hopefully all will go well and I’ll have some pictures to post of his first real game! Have a great weekend everyone!
