Locro

One of our favorite foods discovered in Ecuador is their Locro. Locro is a soup made with Ecuadorian potatoes which are yellow, cheese and fresh avocado. In Argentina we have a version of Locro but it is more like a stew, made with corn and meat instead of the Ecuadorian vegetarian version.

Here is a recipe which I adapted from Whats4Eats.com

Ingredients:

• Oil or butter - 1/4 cup
• Onion, minced - 1/2
• Garlic, minced - 3-4 cloves
• Potatoes, peeled and diced - 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
• Water or stock - 4 cups
• Milk - 1 cup
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• Muenster, queso fresco or mozzarella cheese, cut into pieces or shredded - 1 cup
• Fresh avocado, peeled and sliced length-wise- 1 to 2
  

Begin by adding your butter or oil to a large soup pan and warmly it slightly, add the minced onion until translucent and then the minced garlic. After just a minute or so add the water or stock and the potatoes. Once the potatoes have softened add the milk followed by salt and pepper to taste. At this stage you can mash up the potatoes or not. I had it both ways while visiting Ecuador, it really comes down to personal taste.

In the soup bowl place some of the cheese in the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup on top.
Then arrange fresh cut slices of avocado on top.

Enjoy!