🇳🇮 Nicaraguan Cuisine

Indio Viejo

Old Indian Stew

Prep Time 1.5 hours
Servings 6
Difficulty Medium
Calories 406 kcal

A thick, savory stew made from shredded beef cooked in a masa-thickened broth with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and sour orange juice.

Ingredients

  • 700g beef flank steak
  • 6 corn tortillas, torn into pieces
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup sour orange juice (or mix of orange and lime)
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • Fresh cilantro, chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 litre beef broth

Instructions

  1. 1 Boil beef in salted water until very tender, about one hour. Reserve the broth. Shred the beef finely with two forks.
  2. 2 Soak torn tortillas in one cup of reserved broth until soft, then blend into a smooth paste to use as thickener.
  3. 3 Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper, and tomatoes until softened, about 8 minutes.
  4. 4 Add shredded beef, tortilla paste, remaining broth, and sour orange juice. Stir well and simmer 20 minutes until thick.
  5. 5 Stir in fresh mint and cilantro. The stew should be thick enough to hold its shape slightly on a spoon. Season to taste.

Did You Know?

Legend says indio viejo was invented to hide beef from Spanish colonizers by disguising it in a thick, unrecognizable stew.

From The Culinary Codex — http://theculinarycodex.com/dish/nicaraguan/indio-viejo/