Ingredients
Soup
- 1.2 kgñame espino, or white yam, peeled and cubed
- 2 litreswater
- salt
Sofrito
- 3 tbspoil
- 2onions, chopped
- 4 clovesgarlic
- 2spring onions
- 1 tspground cumin
Cheese
- 500 gqueso costeño, salty white cheese, cubed
To finish
- 150 mlsuero costeño, soured cream
- juice of 1 lime
- coriander
To serve
- white rice
- fried plantain
Directions
- Peel the yam under running water or with oiled hands, wearing gloves if your skin is sensitive. Cut it into rough cubes and rinse them.
- Boil the yam in the salted water for about 30 minutes, until some pieces have collapsed and others still hold.
- Crush some of the softest pieces against the side of the pot with a spoon. Never blend it smooth. Stir the sofrito into the yam pot and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the cheese at the end and keep the heat low. Queso costeño is salty enough that you may need no further salt at all, so taste before seasoning.
- Simmer 5 minutes until the cheese is soft and beginning to melt at the edges but still in recognisable pieces.
- Take it off the heat and stir in the lime juice.
- Serve in bowls with a spoonful of suero on top and coriander scattered over. The suero goes in at the table rather than the pot, and it splits if it is boiled.
Technique
- Suero costeño is a soured cream closer to crème fraîche than to yoghurt, and it is sold in Colombian shops.
- The soup thickens considerably as it stands and is loosened with water.
- It is eaten hot in a very hot climate, which locals will tell you makes perfect sense.
Substitutions
- Any white yam, or taro, though the texture differs.
- Feta rinsed of some of its salt, or halloumi, in place of queso costeño.
Variations
- With a little more suero stirred through the pot.
- Made thinner, as a lighter soup.
- With a piece of smoked meat for depth.
History
A thick soup made from ñame, a type of yam, cooked down with cheese until it develops a rich, creamy consistency, documented across Colombia’s Caribbean coastal region, particularly the department of Córdoba, as a traditional dish reflecting that region’s specific agricultural staples and dairy tradition. Its combination of a starchy root vegetable with melted cheese, cooked together into a unified, comforting dish, reflects a broader Colombian Caribbean coastal culinary pattern of building hearty soups from a few substantial, readily available regional ingredients. Mote de queso remains closely associated with Colombia’s Caribbean coastal departments specifically, considered a defining regional specialty within that part of the country.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mote de queso?
Mote de queso is a soup & stew from Colombia: costeño soup of ñame yam with melting salty cheese. A thick soup made from ñame, a type of yam, cooked down with cheese until it develops a rich, creamy consistency, documented across Colombia’s Caribbean coastal region, particularly the department of Córdoba, as a traditional dish reflecting that region’s specific agricultural staples and dairy tradition. Its combination of a starchy root vegetable with melted cheese, cooked together into a unified, comforting dish, reflects a broader Colombian Caribbean coastal culinary pattern of building hearty soups from a few substantial, readily available regional ingredients. Mote de queso remains closely associated with Colombia’s Caribbean coastal departments specifically, considered a defining regional specialty within that part of the country.
How long does Mote de queso take to make?
Mote de queso takes 20 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Mote de queso?
Yes, within limits. Any white yam, or taro, though the texture differs. Feta rinsed of some of its salt, or halloumi, in place of queso costeño.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mote de queso?
Crush some of the softest pieces against the side of the pot with a spoon. Never blend it smooth. Stir the sofrito into the yam pot and simmer 10 minutes.
