Locro de Papa, Ecuadorian Potato Soup

See that little bag of potatoes? I bought those on my very first trip to the market the day we arrived in Cuenca. I like potatoes, but not enough to go through the hassle of peeling and cutting them up. If I’m honest, I mostly like French fries and those are a pain to make. Alas, I married an Irishman, and he loves potatoes, all kinds of potatoes, and I know he wishes I would make them more often.

When I saw that bag of potatoes I thought to myself, oh, those look like baby Yukon gold, they’ll be easy to boil up and dress with a little butter and parsley, no peeling or cutting needed. Steven would love that, I thought, so I snagged ’em.

Days later, they were still sitting on the kitchen counter, looking at me, because now they were starting to grow little eyes. Our friends Kelly and Bill were making something for dinner, I forget what, so I thought I’d add the boiled potatoes as a side and threw a pot of water on the stove. I added the potatoes and let them cook.

Taking a break while Bill and Kelly do all the work.

A few minutes later I looked at the pot and lo and behold, about half of those little taters had literally melted, completely fallen to mush, thickening the boiling water to the consistency of potato soup. They had been on the burner for just a few minutes, so I definitely had not overcooked them. Kelly looked at them and the two of us tasted the mush (and it was gooood!). Steven tasted the mush and loved it. But for some reason, we decided since there were still a few whole ones in there, we drained the mushy liquid and tried to salvage the dish. No go. We ended up mashing the remaining potatoes and each had about two tablespoons for dinner. Live and learn.

Although we did not know this at the time, it turns out that Ecuadorians love potato soup, in fact, it is one of their staple dishes served daily even in the summer. Known as Locro de Papa, I decided to add this soup to our cooking list of Ecuadorian dishes we wanted to make and sample. As we went on our day trips to sights in and around Cuenca, we would end the tour with lunch. Locro de Papa was almost always on the menu, so we got to try it before we made our own. It is pretty delicious, warming and filling. Below is the recipe, it’s very easy, so I hope you’ll give it a try!

Locro de Papa (Ecuadorian Potato Soup)

Ingredients:

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon achiote or annatto powder (for color, optional)
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 cup queso fresco or mild cheese, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
Avocado slices (for garnish)

Instructions:

In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent.

Add the minced garlic, ground cumin, and achiote powder (if using). Stir well and cook for an additional 2 minutes until the spices are fragrant.

Add the diced potatoes to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the vegetable or chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Once the potatoes are cooked, use a potato masher or the back of a spoon to partially mash some of the potatoes in the pot, creating a thicker consistency.

Add the milk and cubed queso fresco to the pot. Stir well and simmer for a few minutes.

Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk or broth if needed.

Serve hot, garnished with chopped fresh cilantro and avocado slices.

Locro de Papa is often enjoyed with a spicy yellow pepper and tree tomato sauce called aji sauce. There is hardly a table of in all of Ecuador that doesn’t have a dish of aji sauce on it. And there are as many different versions as there are tables. I am not a spicy sauce person, but even I loved it!

We did our cooking mostly in Bill and Kelly’s kitchen since it was bigger and it had ventilation.
One thing that we noticed about potato products in Ecuador is how yellow they are. Potato chips, shoestring potatoes, everything. It was all a deep golden yellow color. This recipe calls for a teaspoon of achiote which is used to make the dish even more yellow, but we didn’t use it.
Notice that droopy plant in the upper left corner? That’s cilantro. I don’t know if Ecuador grows a different variety or if it has all gone to seed this time of year, but it looks completely different. As you can see, it is feathery and flowery here, but it still tastes great! At first I declined to buy it at the market because I thought it was old, but it was all that way so I finally gave in!
We made our own stock for the soup with bones from chickens we bought from a vendor a couple of blocks from our apartments. We have practically lived on those chickens (and the subsequent stock) during our time in Ecuador, for Steven and me, they are literally the best we have ever had.
Mixing the potatoes with onions.
Now it just needs to simmer a bit. The cheese that goes in (and on top) is queso fresco, but it is fine to use Monterey Jack or any mild white cheese.
Tada! This is not our photo, because even though we spent all day in the kitchen cooking and documenting our efforts, later in the evening our friends Chris and Erin Ratay showed up (with their pup, Mr. Cool!) and things turned more social than foodie. What I mean by that is, we forgot to take photos of our finished dishes, and, apparently, each other. 🙄


Up next: Chicken and Rice, Ecuador style.


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11 Comments

  2. Liz

    Looks delicious! Cooking together can be so much fun as long as you can stay on point with a recipe. The older I get, the harder it is for me not to get distracted, with potential recipe failure as a consequence.
    I’m also one of those people for whom cilantro tastes like soap, so I have to offer it on the side when called for in a recipe.

    1. 2chouters

      We got easily distracted, apparently. But the food was good! I’ve read that some folks with that reaction to cilantro can tolerate the stuff grown in Ecuador. I love it, and so happy it doesn’t taste like soap!

    1. 2chouters

      So no queso fresco, either? That said, Ecuador doesn’t really do good cheese. I am so looking forward to returning to France!! Good bread and cheese, I can’t wait! 🙂

  4. Judy Iverson

    Hey Linda! I’m not much of a cook, but thought even I could pull off this potato soup recipe. And I did yesterday! It was delicious. I used Monterey Jack cheese and opted out of the spice for color. Next time I’ll add more potatoes. Definitely sharing this recipe around along with the story of your travels. Thanks so much for sharing.

    1. 2chouters

      Thank you for checking in on us, Chris! We are fine, just knee-deep into the process of packing up Bijou to return to the US and it has been quite the chore! We are beginning to see daylight, though, so hope to get a new post up soon!

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