Locro - Potato and Cheese Soup

Locro - Potato and Cheese Soup

This healthy and tasty soup originates in Peru. The fresh cheese and home grown potatoes are used to prepare this soup. It is an ideal dish to welcome the guests or even a nice way to start a family dinner. Surprisingly in Argentina there is a soup with the same name, Locro, but that is cooked with meat and vegetables and tastes entirely different.

 Preparation time  :  10 minutes
 Cooking time        :  50 minutes - 1 hour
 Difficulty               : Easy
 Serves                   :  4 - 6

Ingredients :

1/4 cup Oil or butter 

1/2 Onion, minced

3 to 4 cloves Garlic, minced  

1 Kilo Potatoes, peeled and diced

4 cups Water or stock (you can even use vegetable stock cubes in water)

1 cup Milk  

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded

 

Method :

1) Heat the oil or butter over medium flame in a large pot.

2) Add the onion and garlic and simmer until the onion is translucent.

3) Stir in the potatoes, water or stock, milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

4) Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are falling apart, this will take about 30-45 minutes.

5) Mash the potatoes up a bit with the back of a spoon to thicken the soup, leaving it a little chunky.

6) Remove the soup from heat and stir in the cheese. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.

Variations :

Sauté 1 to 2 chopped yellow chili peppers with the onion and garlic for a spicier soup with an authentic Andean flavor. The peppers also add a beautiful yellow hue to the soup. Yellow Chili can be found canned or frozen in many Latin markets.  Sometimes a handful of corn kernels is often added to this soup. Use about 1 cup and add after the soup has simmered for about 20-30 minutes.