Pisca andina

Ingredients

The broth

• 600 gpotatoes
• peeled and diced
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 3spring onions, chopped
• 2garlic cloves, crushed
• 1.2 litreswater or stock
• 2 tablespoonsbutter
• salt

To finish

• 400 mlmilk
• 4eggs
• a large bunch of coriander
• chopped
• black pepper

Sometimes added

• 150 gwhite cheese, cubed
• a little cream
• shredded chicken

To serve

• with arepa
• and white cheese
• at dawn

Directions

1. Use a large whole bunch of it. It should wilt rather than cook. Add it right at the last minute. The yolk of the egg stays soft. Cook the egg through for them. A waxy one stays in firm cubes. Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped onion in to it. Cook it for about six minutes. Add the garlic and spring onion.
2. Cook them for two more minutes. Use plenty of the spring onion. Add the diced potato to the pot. Stir it through the melted butter. Dice the potato up fairly small. About one centimetre works well. Add the water or stock to the pot. Season the whole pot with salt. Bring it up to a gentle simmer.
3. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. The potato should be completely soft. Cook it on if it still resists. Crush a few pieces against the pot. Leave most of the pieces whole. Pour all the milk into the pot.
4. Warm all of it through gently. Do not let it come up to a boil. Keep it at a bare gentle simmer. Stir in the cubed white cheese. The cheese softens in the hot broth. Crack an egg into the simmering broth. Crack each egg into a cup first. Keep it at a bare simmer only. A gentle simmer keeps them whole.
5. Let them poach for about four minutes. The white should be set and opaque. Cook them longer for a firm yolk. Do not stir once the eggs are in. Leave them well alone as they set. Shake the pot gently if needed.
6. Scatter the chopped coriander over it. It should wilt in the hot broth. Taste the broth and adjust the salt. Grind black pepper over the top. Potato and milk both take salt.
7. Ladle it out into deep warm bowls. Lift one egg into each of the bowls. Use a slotted spoon for the egg. Lift it gently so it stays whole. Set it on top of the soft potato. Serve warm arepa alongside it. Serve white cheese with that too. The broth keeps two days refrigerated. Poach fresh eggs in reheated broth.

Technique

• The egg is poached directly in the broth rather than separately, which flavours it and lets the white thicken the soup slightly. Crack each into a cup first and slide it in gently, keep the pot at a bare simmer since a rolling boil shreds the white, and do not stir once they are in — shake the pot gently instead.
• A soft yolk is not fully cooked and carries a small salmonella risk; pasteurised eggs remove it, as does cooking the yolk through. Anyone pregnant, very young or with low immunity should have theirs cooked through.
• Add the milk only after the potato is cooked and warm it through without boiling, since boiling milk catches on the bottom and changes the flavour. Add the coriander right at the very end so it wilts rather than cooks — long cooking turns it grey.

Substitutions

• Cubed white cheese stirred in softens without fully melting and gives salty pockets; some households add it and some do not.
• Use a floury potato, which breaks down slightly and thickens the broth, and crush a few pieces against the pot to release more starch while leaving most whole for texture.

Variations

• Mérida and Táchira sit high in the Venezuelan Andes where mornings are genuinely cold, which is what shapes the dish; the atlas also carries pastelito andino from the same two states and the same dawn habit.
• Coriander and spring onion both go in generously as main ingredients rather than garnishes.
• Poach fresh eggs in reheated broth rather than reheating the eggs, which go rubbery entirely.

History

From Merida and Tachira in the Venezuelan Andes, eaten at dawn against the cold with arepa and white cheese.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pisca andina?

Pisca andina is a soup & stew from Venezuela: andean breakfast broth of potato, milk, coriander and poached egg. From Merida and Tachira in the Venezuelan Andes, eaten at dawn against the cold with arepa and white cheese.

How long does Pisca andina take to make?

Pisca andina takes 15 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Pisca andina?

Yes, within limits. Cubed white cheese stirred in softens without fully melting and gives salty pockets; some households add it and some do not. Use a floury potato, which breaks down slightly and thickens the broth, and crush a few pieces against the pot to release more starch while leaving most whole for texture.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pisca andina?

Use a large whole bunch of it. It should wilt rather than cook. Add it right at the last minute. The yolk of the egg stays soft. Cook the egg through for them. A waxy one stays in firm cubes. Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped onion in to it. Cook it for about six minutes. Add the garlic and spring onion.