Ingredients
Kelp
- 100 gdried cochayuyo
- cold water, for soaking
For a salad
- 1onion, thinly sliced
- 2tomatoes, diced
- juice of 2 lemons
- 3 tbspolive oil
- coriander
- salt and black pepper
For a stew
- 1onion
- 2 clovesgarlic
- 1 tsppaprika
- 200 gpotatoes
- 1 litrestock
Directions
- Rinse the dried cochayuyo under cold running water to wash off sand and surface salt.
- Soak it in cold water for 30 minutes to an hour, until it swells and softens and turns from black-brown to olive green.
- Change the soaking water once partway through. Kelp holds a great deal of salt and iodine, and a single soak leaves it too strong to eat in any quantity.
- Cut it into pieces of about 2 cm, discarding the toughest part of the stem.
- Boil in fresh unsalted water for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender but still with some bite. Older, thicker kelp can want as much as 45 minutes.
- Taste as you go rather than trusting the clock, because cochayuyo varies enormously with the thickness of the stem and how long it was dried.
- Drain it and rinse once more under cold water, which stops the cooking and washes off the last of the iodine.
- For a salad, toss the cooked kelp with the sliced onion, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, coriander, salt and pepper, and let it stand for 30 minutes before eating.
- For a stew, fry the onion and garlic with paprika, add the kelp, potatoes and stock, and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Serve either warm or cold, both of which are usual.
Technique
- It was harvested from Pacific rocks and sun-dried in bundles, and was a Mapuche staple traded far inland long before the Spanish arrived.
- The iodine content is genuinely high. Worth knowing if you eat seaweed often or have a thyroid condition.
- It should keep a springy bite. Boiled to softness the texture is gone and it is the texture people eat it for.
Substitutions
- There is no close substitute. Kombu behaves quite differently and is far milder.
- Ready-soaked cochayuyo, sold in some Chilean shops, which skips straight to the boiling.
Variations
- Charquicán de cochayuyo, in place of the meat.
- Battered and fried as croquettes.
- Chopped fine into an empanada filling.
History
Harvested from Pacific rocks and sun-dried in bundles, a Mapuche staple traded inland long before the Spanish arrived.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cochayuyo?
Cochayuyo is a salad & side from Chile: dried bull kelp, soaked and cooked into salads and stews. Harvested from Pacific rocks and sun-dried in bundles, a Mapuche staple traded inland long before the Spanish arrived.
How long does Cochayuyo take to make?
Cochayuyo takes 1 hr soaking of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Cochayuyo?
Yes, within limits. There is no close substitute. Kombu behaves quite differently and is far milder. Ready-soaked cochayuyo, sold in some Chilean shops, which skips straight to the boiling.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cochayuyo?
Taste as you go rather than trusting the clock, because cochayuyo varies enormously with the thickness of the stem and how long it was dried.
