Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Sopa de quinua con chancho

Quinoa soup with pork! 

For the first time, I checked out a cookbook from the local library. It is called "The South American Table", by Maria Baez Kijac. So far it has been a treasure trove of delicious recipes. The book starts with a quick geography and history lesson about South America, then dives into the good stuff... soups, meats, grains, drinks, appetizers, desserts.... Yum!

The recipe I share here, for quinoa soup with pork, may initially seem daunting with it's large cast of ingredients, but don't be deterred! Most of the ingredients are standard household fare and I am pretty sure everything else will only require one trip to a standard grocery store with a butcher counter. This soup is well worth the effort!! (I made it this last weekend and Will and I both had second servings.)

Ingredients
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions (white and 1 inch green part) 
  • 1 cup chopped leeks (white and 1 inch green part)
  • 1 medium sized, ripe, firm tomato - peeled and chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves mashed into a paste with 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of freshly ground black pepper 
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin 
  • 1 pound of lean pork shoulder- cut into 1/2 inch cubes 
  • 6 cups hot water 
  • 1 pound of boiling potatoes - peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes 
  • 3/4 cup of quinoa - cooked
  • 1 cup frozen peas 
  • 2 tsp dried basil 
  • dash of cayenne pepper 

Directions
  1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over low heat - add the paprika and warm for 1 minute 
  2. Stir in the scallions, leeks, tomato, garlic paste, and cumin - cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring regularly 
  3. Increase the heat to medium - add the cubed pork - cook for a few minutes until the pork is well-coated with the vegetable mix 
  4. Add the water - bring to a boil - cover and reduce heat to low - simmer for 45 minutes 
  5. Add the potatoes and quinoa - simmer for 20 more minutes (until potatoes are tender)
  6. Add the peas, basil and cayenne - simmer another 2-3 minutes  (until peas are warmed)
  7. Serve and enjoy! 

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