A thick, hearty La Paz stew combining chuño (freeze-dried potatoes), lamb, wheat, vegetables, and herbs into a deeply traditional Andean bowl.
Ingredients
500g lamb stew meat, cubed
1 cup chuño (freeze-dried potatoes), soaked overnight
1/2 cup wheat berries, soaked
2 potatoes, cubed
1 carrot, diced
1/2 cup peas
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
6 cups water
Salt, pepper
Parsley
Instructions
1Boil lamb in water with onion and garlic for 1 hour until tender.
2Add soaked wheat berries and chuño. Simmer 30 min.
3Add potatoes, carrot, and peas. Cook 20 min until all vegetables are tender.
4Season with cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
5The stew should be very thick, almost porridge-like.
6Serve in deep bowls garnished with fresh parsley.
Did You Know?
Chuño, the freeze-dried potato used in chairo, is made by leaving potatoes out during freezing Andean nights — a preservation technique over 1,000 years old.