Locro de Papa (Ecuadorian Potato Cheese Soup)
Locro de Papa (Ecuadorian Potato Cheese Soup) was an unexpected surprise of flavor that I enjoyed a few times in Ecuador. It's packed with flavor from the achiote paste and loaded up with cheese.
Servings 4 -6
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 cup onions diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic chopped
- 2 pounds russet potatoes peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
- 2 inch slice of achote paste*
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup queso fresco crumbled
- 1 cup half and half
- For garnishes
- chopped cilantro
- chopped avocado
- chopped green onions
- crumbled queso fresco
- popped corn lightly salted
Instructions
- Heat up 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sized stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, achote paste, cumin, salt and pepper and saute until the vegetables become soft, about 5 minuets. Add the potatoes and stir until the potatoes are coated with the spices.
- Add the chicken broth and cook covered for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Remove 1/2 of the potatoes and set aside.
- With an immersion blender or a regular blender (in small batches), blend the soup until smooth.
- Add the remaining potatoes back to the soup along with the cheese crumbles and half and half and stir well. Season to taste.
- Serve the soup with the traditional garnishes. It's especially great with avocado and cilantro.
Notes
Achote paste can be found in many grocery stores in the Latin American section. If you can't find it you can order it from Savory Spice Shop. Their prices are better than Amazon. It's a great spice to have on hand as it's great not only in this soup but added to a marinade as well!
In Ecuador, they always serve popcorn. It's surprisingly good in this soup!