Chairo

Ingredients

Chuño

• 200 gchuño negro, freeze-dried potato, soaked overnight

Meat

• 600 glamb on the bone
• 300 gbeef, in cubes
• 150 gcharque, dried salted meat, optional

Grain

• 150 gmote de trigo, peeled wheat, soaked overnight

Base

• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 3 tbspají panca paste
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 3 tbspoil

Vegetables

• 3potatoes, in chunks
• 2carrots
• 150 ghabas, broad beans
• 150 gpeas
• 1courgette
• 1corn cob, in rounds

To finish

• chopped huacatay or parsley
• a little chuño flour, to thicken

To serve

• with llajua, the Bolivian chilli sauce

Directions

1. Soak the chuño overnight in plenty of water, changing the water once. Squeeze out the black water and rinse it several times until the water runs clearer. Some cooks then crush it roughly, which is traditional and helps thicken the soup.
2. Soak it and boil it separately first, discarding that water, since it is very salty. Simmer the lamb and beef with the soaked wheat for about an hour and a half.
3. Use lamb on the bone, since the bones give the broth its body. Skim the surface as scum rises. Fry the finely chopped onion in oil for ten to fifteen minutes until completely soft.
4. Cook the onion until it dissolves rather than merely softening, which is standard Andean practice. Add the garlic, then the ají panca paste, and fry it for four or five minutes.
5. Fry the chilli paste properly, since raw it tastes sharp and grassy and fried it turns deep and fruity. Ají panca is dark, mild and smoky rather than fiercely hot. Add the ground cumin and the oregano. Stir the base into the pot with the meat and wheat. Add the prepared chuño and simmer for a further thirty minutes.
6. Add potatoes and carrots first, then broad beans, peas, courgette and corn. Chairo should be thick, closer to a stew than a broth. Season firmly with salt and pepper, and taste after adding any charque. Stir it in off the heat, or use parsley as a substitute.
7. Serve it hot in deep bowls with llajua, the Bolivian sauce of rocoto chilli and tomato, at the table. It is better the next day and it keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Chuño is potato freeze-dried by the natural climate of the high Andes.
• It must be soaked overnight and rubbed to remove the skins.
• Chuño negro is the strong dark kind used in chairo.

Substitutions

• Tunta, the white milder chuño, though negro is traditional.
• Pearl barley in place of mote de trigo.

Variations

• Made with charque, the dried salted meat.
• Made without beef, using lamb alone.
• Made thicker, closer to a stew.

History

Aymara soup of the altiplano built on chuño, lamb and vegetables, using the freeze-dried potato of the high plateau.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chairo?

Chairo is a soup & stew from Bolivia: la Paz soup of chuño, lamb, wheat and vegetables. Aymara soup of the altiplano built on chuño, lamb and vegetables, using the freeze-dried potato of the high plateau.

How long does Chairo take to make?

Chairo takes 40 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Chairo?

Yes, within limits. Tunta, the white milder chuño, though negro is traditional. Pearl barley in place of mote de trigo.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chairo?

Cook the onion until it dissolves rather than merely softening, which is standard Andean practice. Add the garlic, then the ají panca paste, and fry it for four or five minutes.