Bowl of Cochabambina Soup
(click to enlarge)

Cochabambina Soup


Bolivia   -   Sopa Cochabambina / Chupe
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 14 cups
***
3-1/4 hrs
Yes		 This is a complex soup, but not hard to make if you keep it organized. Most can be done ahead in steps, and this soup reheats well.

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t
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Chuño (1)
Beef, lean
Lamb, lean (2)
Onion, white
Garlic
Tomato, ripe
Potatoes (3)
Carrots
-- Grains
Peas, frozen
Fava Beans (4)
Hominy, cooked (5)
Wheat, cooked (6)
---------------
Seaweed (7)
Olive Oil
Broth (8)
-- Spicing
Cumin
Oregano, dry
Chili Flake (9)
Salt
Pepper, black
-- Garnish
Scallions
Parsley
Oregano, dry
Do Ahead   -   (9 hrs 15 min work)
  1. Break up CHUÑO a bit and soak it overnight.
  2. Drain Chuño and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
  3. Cook Wheat by simmering in Water. Pelted Wheat (pearled wheat) cooks in an hour, but whole wheat will take longer. Drain and keep aside.
Prep   -   (1-1/4 hrs)
  1. Cut BEEF into bite-size chinks. Weight is after removing bones and excess fat.
  2. Cut LAMB into bite-size chinks. Weight is after removing bones and excess fat. Mix with Beef.
  3. Chop ONION small.
  4. Crush GARLIC and chop small.
  5. Scald TOMATOES 1 minute in boiling water and quench in cold water. Peel and chop small.
  6. Peel POTATOES and cut into 1/4 inch sticks about 1 inch long. Hold in cold water until needed.
  7. Peel CARROTS and cut into sticks similar to the Potatoes.
  8. Mix together all Grains items (except Fava Beans if fresh raw).
  9. Grind Cumin and mix together all Spicing items.
  10. Crush Seaweed fairly small. Measure is after crushing.
  11. Everything can be bagged and refrigerated overnight at this point.
Run   -   (2 hrs)
  1. In a large soup pot (5 quart), place Beef / Lamb mix and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a high boil for 1 minute. Pour out into a clean sink and rinse well. Clean the pot.
  2. Return Meats to the pot and pour in Broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until meats are just tender (about 1-1/4 hrs).
  3. Meanwhile:   In a sauté pan or similar, heat Oil. Stir in Onions and fry stirring until Onions are light golden. When nearly done, stir in Garlic.
  4. Stir in Spicing mix and Tomatoes. Fry stirring until Tomatoes are soft, then add to Broth.
  5. When Meats are almost tender enough, stir in Potatoes, and Carrots. Bring back to a boil, then turn to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
  6. Stir in Chuño. Continue to simmer another 15 minutes or until Potatoes are tender.
  7. Meanwhile:   Chop Scallions, Parsley and mix with Oregano for Garnish.
  8. Stir in Grain mix and Seaweed. Bring back to a simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust liquid with boiling water, if needed.
  9. Just before serving, stir in Garnish mix. Serve hot.
NOTES:

  1. Chuño:

      This is freeze dried potatoes, much used in Peru and Bolivia. They are available on-line. For details see our Chuño page. If you can't get it, only a Bolivian might know it's missing.

  2. Lamb

      Buy more than twice the weight you need, because any cut of Lamb will be at least half bones and fat. Remove bones and excess fat.

  3. Potatoes:

      White Rose or similar work well in recipes of this sort. Avoid Klondike Gold type potatoes - they turn to mush if cooked a little more than the minimum. For details see our Potatoes page.

  4. Hominy:

      Best is "Mexican Style", made with large white corn kernels treated with lime or lye. Cans are available in the Mexican section of most markets. Canned Hominy is usually sufficiently cooked to go directly into this recipe. For details see our Hominy page.

  5. Fava Beans:

      Best to use frozen "double peeled", as it's expensive and a hassle to use fresh Favas. The Favas must be cooked, and the frozen are cooked enough. If fresh Favas are used, they go in along with the Potatoes.

  6. Wheat:

      I use Pelted Wheat (Pearled Wheat) which cooks in an hour. Whole Wheat will take longer and has a stronger taste. Pelted Wheat is available from markets serving an Anatolian, Levantine, Middle Eastern, or Armenian community. For details see our Wheat page.

  7. Seaweed:

      In Bolivia, a freshwater seaweed from Lake Titicaca is used. I have no idea what it tastes like, and the pattern recipe gave no hint, just saying seaweed can be had from "Health Food Stores" (not around here buddy, they only sell pills and powders). I used dried Wakame, easily available from Asian markets.

  8. Broth:

      Beef or Chicken. This should be a fairly strong Broth or Stock. Add some Bouillon cubes or powder if necessary.

  9. Chili Flake

      Any flake of your choice will be fine. Even a really hot one won't make this recipe real hot. For details see our Chili Powders & Flake page.
  10. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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