Locro de Zapallo – Taste, Color And Nutrients In One Plate

Andean pumpkin, potato and black mint stew

locro-r-1024x690Its original name was rocro, in Quechua, and then it transmuted to locro. The basic version is a pumpkin stew with potatoes and chili peppers, and this is a wonderful vegetarian meal, but you could choose to add different ingredients like shrimps, beef, dried meat, lamb, hen, and seaweeds. It is the perfect marriage between native ingredients, like pumpkin, potatoes and chili peppers, with other flavours that came to our country via the Spanish conquistadors, like onion, milk and cheese.

zapallor-1024x768

Its appearance is not the more stylish, or as my good friend and wonderful photographer Amir would say: it’s not photogenic at all, like many of our most typical stews. But looks are deceiving even when it comes to food, as it is one of the most delicious and tasty entrees of our repertoire. If you like the sweet pumpkin flavor, this dish is perfect for you. They say that in Colonial times, many people had locro for dinner and then went straight to bed. We guess this was because the dish is not heavy like other popular dishes back then.

choclo-r-1024x768Besides its beautiful color, it is full of nutrients. You can add huacatay (black mint), if you find it. I have seen it in some supermarkets in the US in the form of paste, but I don’t plan on trying it any time soon because I really don´t like huacatay (I´m sorry, but it´s true, which probably proves I wasn’t born in Peru, as Peruvians adore this herb). For me, cilantro leaves are fine.

papas2r-1024x980To upgrade this recipe, add 2 dozen shrimp tails, cleaned, lightly sautéed in a little oil or butter until they change their color.

As a side dish: always white rice (or brown rice, as my daughter used in the picture, if you prefer it).

Locro de zapallo, taste, color and nutrients in one plate
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Peruvian cusine
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, mashed
  • 2 tablespoons aji amarillo paste (optional)
  • 2 lb pumpkin, diced. We use a type of pumpkin called “macre”, but if you’re not in Peru you can experiment with any pumpkin. In that case you may need to adjust the cooking time and method, to get a very soft, mashed pumpkin.
  • 2 white potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup giant kernel corn
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • ½ cup green peas
  • ½ cup unsweetened evaporated milk
  • 1 cup white cheese, diced (queso fresco)
  • 2 tablespoons huacatay leaves (black mint), or coriander leaves, chopped
  • White rice, cooked
  • Preparation:
Instructions
  1. In a saucepan heat the vegetable oil over medium heat, saute onion and garlic, stirring until the onion is very soft. Add the aji amarillo paste and cook four minutes longer, stirring every now and then.
  2. Add pumpkin, potatoes, corn, vegetable stock, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat, and cook, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are tender. Add green peas.
  3. Turn off the heat. Add evaporated milk and queso fresco. Stir and heat through. Season with more salt and pepper, if needed; add herbs, and serve immediately with white rice.
Nutrition Information
Serve size: 1 cup Calories: 166 Fat: 5g Carbohydrates: 31g


Comments

  1. I think your title says it all: Taste, color and nutrients in one plate! Looks delicious.

  2. This post made my eyes pop out and has me very interested. I want to try this, but want my first time to be made by someone who is familiar with the soup. I would hate to make it and think I had it right and the flavor be completely off. I need a starting point…. Love the little point on top of the rice. Nice touch.

    • You´re right. It´s not easy when you don´t know the exact flavor or texture of the dish. Maybe a Peruvian friend can cook it for you.

      • Hi,

        For one thing, you simply have to use fresh peas. The flavor of the frozen is too sweet and will create another flavor. What I do is when the peas are in season, I buy and bag and Trader Joe’s and freeze them for when I need them. Not sure what they do at the other brand processing plants because I look to see if they add sugar and they never do, yet, they gross me out when I put them in something that has a delicate flavor. If you put the in like Aguadito that has LOTS of cilantro, you might not notice it so much.

        Colleen

    • This recipe Is Peruvian mostly but it was due to the African slave trade that I believe this meal was introduced. My mother-in-law is Peruvian and I learned to cook underneath her guidance. You cut the squash into pieces and peel off the outer skin. I like to slow cook it in the slow cooker. While it is cooking I cut a red onion and saute it with fresh garlic. You can make this thinner and serve it as a soup. We cook it and reduce it so that it is more along the lines of a stew adding corn ringlets and the Andes Mountains small yellow potato. In the last 5 minutes you will add the Queso blanco cut into small square pieces. Serve it over rice and add a touch of cilantro on top. You can serve a thin cut minute steak on the side. Shrimp is very good as an alternative meet

  3. That is just beautiful..makes me wish my people liked pumpkin more. I love it, they don’t. Love the color of this so much…gracias!

    • Hi Carrie,

      After tasting it, they might change. My daughter was such a picky eater when she was 10 and under. She was terrible. I took her to Peru and the food smelled soooo good, she even ate squid. I was absolutely flabbergasted. After that, she was so interesting in expanding her food horizons.

      Colleen

    • Hi, is not a soup, is stew, and the best pumpkin you can use is the butter one, just use small amount of water cause pumpkins are watering and keep checking if in case you need to add more water, you are going to love it, and find out if where do you live they have yellow potatoes they are the best for this dish any way if you don’t have does patatús you can used red potato’s for it, good luck and have fun doing it

  4. Looks yummy!

  5. yammi!!

  6. yummii!

  7. yummii! quiero

  8. JOSE LOBATON QUIROZ says:

    INTERESANTE EL COMENTARIO SOBRE EL ORIGEN DEL TERMINO DE EXTRACCION QUECHUA…..YO LE AGREGO HUACATAY Y LE DA UN SABOR ESPECIAL– MUY BUENA RECETA- JOSE LOBATON Q. LIMA PERU

  9. Alverjitas no!! Arvejitas, de Arvejas…

  10. I’ll try this recepie. Thanks.

  11. Luis Ricardo Landeo Ponce says:

    Una contribución aclaratoria. La muña (Minthostachys mollis) es la verdadera menta de los Andes. La hierbabuena (Mentha spicata) es de origen europeo, al igual que la variedad híbrida estéril Mentha piperita, conocida en el Perú como menta, a secas. Esta última es el resultado del cruce de la Mentha spicata con otra variedad europea, la Mentha aquatica, y abunda en territorio peruano, reproduciéndose por rizomas.

    Huacatay
    Reino:
    Plantae
    División:
    Magnoliophyta
    Clase:
    Magnoliopsida
    Orden:
    Asterales
    Familia:
    Asteraceae
    Subfamilia:
    Asteroideae
    Tribu:
    Tageteae
    Género:
    Tagetes
    Especie:
    T. minuta

    Hierbabuena
    Reino:
    Plantae
    División:
    Magnoliophyta
    Clase:
    Magnoliopsida
    Orden:
    Lamiales
    Familia:
    Lamiaceae
    Subfamilia:
    Nepetoideae
    Tribu:
    Mentheae
    Género:
    Mentha
    Especie:
    Mentha spicata

    Menta
    Reino:
    Plantae
    División:
    Magnoliophyta
    Clase:
    Magnoliopsida
    Orden:
    Lamiales
    Familia:
    Lamiaceae
    Subfamilia:
    Nepetoideae
    Tribu:
    Mentheae
    Género:
    Mentha
    Especie:
    Mentha aquatica

    Menta
    Reino:
    Plantae
    División:
    Magnoliophyta
    Clase:
    Magnoliopsida
    Orden:
    Lamiales
    Familia:
    Lamiaceae
    Género:
    Mentha
    Especie:
    Mentha x piperita

    Otro:
    La muña (Minthostachys mollis) es conocida como la menta de los Andes, y se ha incorporado de manera veloz en la gastronomía contemporánea. Como motivo de salsas y cremas o como toque final, es refrescante y herbal, y provoca las más inesperadas y agradables reacciones.

    Muña
    Reino:
    Plantae
    Subreino:
    Tracheobionta
    División:
    Magnoliophyta
    Clase:
    Magnoliopsida
    Subclase:
    Asteridae
    Orden:
    Lamiales
    Familia:
    Lamiaceae
    Subfamilia:
    Nepetoideae
    Tribu:
    Mentheae
    Género:
    Minthostachys
    Especie:
    Minthostachys mollis
    (Benth.) Griseb., 1874

Speak Your Mind

*