Robin: Peru is a great country for comfort foods. It is, after all, the birthplace of the potato, a tuber that is high on most people’s list of soothing ingredients. Inhabitants of the Andes are also the creators of many one-pot, carb-rich meals, and what could be cozier than that?
A locro is a warming, chunky stew of Andean origins. This particular one is traditionally made with zapallo or macre, a South American orange squash that is difficult to find outside its native countries. Fortunately for those of us elsewhere, several varieties of pumpkins and other winter squashes have extremely similar flavors—so much so that they are practically indistinguishable when cooked in a dish with other ingredients—which makes it possible to produce a reasonably authentic version of this delicious stew.
My method of making locro involves boiling the corn and potatoes before actually starting the stew, then adding these cooked ingredients near the end. This makes it easier to control the degree of softness reached by each of the vegetables, as they vary in cooking times. You can definitely cook them all together to save time; just be aware that one or more of the ingredients may turn out a bit mushier than the others.
Don’t feel intimidated if, while scanning through this recipe’s ingredients, some of them don’t sound completely familiar; I’ve tried to explain those below. Once you try this locro, I’m pretty sure you’ll agree that getting a little out of your comfort zone is totally worth it!
The squash: Unless you live in South America, you probably won’t be able to get the traditional zapallo squash. Use North American pumpkin, Caribbean pumpkin, Hubbard, butternut, or Kabocha squash, or another, similar, orange-fleshed winter squash.
The hot pepper: Ají amarillo is a yellow hot pepper common in Peruvian cuisine. A wonderfully convenient jarred paste of this ingredient is sold in many Hispanic groceries; if you can’t get that, puree a seeded and deveined fresh ají amarillo, or simply substitute the same amount of pureed canned jalapeño pepper.
The corn: Chewy, large kernel white corn is an important ingredient here. This is not the yellow sweet corn so beloved in North America for eating on (and off) the cob; it’s the starchy, more “primitive” maize that has been a staple in the native diets of the American Continent for millennia. It needs to be cooked for much longer than sweet corn, but the extra time and effort is worth it, as it is quite rustic and satisfying.
In my area, it’s easy to find many authentic Latin American ingredients, so I use the Peruvian corn found in the supermarket freezer case. If you don’t have access to that, you can use a canned hominy. Be sure to drain and rinse it before putting it in your locro. Do not use sweet corn, though, as it will change the nature of this dish.
The peas: Despite the aversion that many Latin Americans have to frozen foods, I loving using frozen green peas because they are delicious, convenient, nutritious, and available year round. They also provide lovely color to a dish. Feel free to use shelled fresh peas, if you prefer; just remember that fresh peas usually need to cook longer (sometimes much longer) than the frozen kind.
The evaporated milk: Do not used sweetened condensed milk! That product is heavily sugared and not appropriate for this dish. Plain, non-sweet evaporated milk is what you want here. If you want to add an extra touch of nostalgia and authenticity to your locro, use Gloria brand. Leche evaporada Gloria is the most traditional Peruvian brand and can be found in many Latin grocery stores.
Omitting ingredients:
- Although the stew is best with all its ingredients, either the peas or the cilantro can be omitted if you have people who don’t eat either of these.
- The piquancy of the dish can definitely be reduced by using less ají amarillo. You can even eliminate the hot pepper, if necessary; your locro will still be delicious.
- The onions in this stew are first sautéed and then boiled, so they will “melt” into the broth and not be discernable in the finished dish. This is good for people who don’t eat onions due to a textural aversion.
Additional Peruvian deliciousness:
Peruvian Pumpkin Stew (Locro de zapallo)
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 pounds (about 700 grams) peeled pumpkin, Hubbard squash, or another similar orange-fleshed winter squash
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium-sized red onion sliced
- 1 quart vegetable or chicken broth homemade, canned, or prepared from bouillon powder or paste
- 2 tablespoons of ají amarillo (Peruvian yellow hot pepper) paste
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups Peruvian corn (choclo) kernals off the cob, cooked
- ¾ cup frozen green peas
- 2 medium-sized potatoes cooked, then peeled
- 1 cup evaporated milk not sweetened condensed milk!
- 2 cups cubed mild white, non-melty cheese such as queso fresco
- 1 small bunch fresh cilantro leaves only
Instructions
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Remove and discard seeds and strings from pumpkin/squash. Cut the vegetable flesh into pieces of about an inch square.
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In a large pot, heat the oil. Cut the slices of onion in half. Sautee the onion, stirring often so that they neither burn nor brown, for a few minutes. Once the onion has become translucent, add the pumpkin/squash and continue to sautee and stir for about 5 more minutes.
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Add the vegetable broth, ají amarillo paste, and garlic. Cover the pot and let this boil for 20-30 minutes, until the pumpkin or squash has begun to fall apart (time will vary according to the hardness of the vegetable you are using). There should still be chunks of pumpkin, but the liquid should now be thicker than water and the same color as the chunks.
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Add the cooked corn kernels and frozen peas and continue to simmer until the peas are cooked.
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Cut the cooked potatoes into pieces about the same size as the squash. Add the potatoes and evaporated milk to the stew and heat through.
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Test your locro, adding salt to taste.
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To serve: Chop the cilantro leaves. Place some of the cubed cheese and chopped cilantro in the bottom of a shallow bowl, then ladle in the locro. (Make sure the stew is very hot, as the cold or even room temperature cheese will lower the temperature of the dish considerably. Note: the cheese will not melt.) Serve alone or with plain white rice.
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Refrigerate any leftovers. The stew will keep for several days and be even more delicious when reheated.
Recipe Notes
For more information about the ingredients in this recie, see the online version: http://comboplate.net/peruvian-pumpkin-stew/
More veggie & cheese recipes:
Latest update: 9 June, 2024
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