Guiso carrero

Ingredients

Meat

• 700 gbeef, in cubes
• or 700 g beef and chorizo together
• 2chorizo sausages, sliced
• salt and black pepper

Vegetables

• 2onions, chopped
• 1red pepper, chopped
• 1green pepper, chopped
• 3carrots, in rounds
• 3potatoes, in chunks
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 400 gtomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato paste

The pot

• 4 tablespoonsoil
• 1 teaspoonsweet paprika
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1bay leaf
• 1 teaspoondried oregano
• about 1.5 litres stock
• salt and black pepper

Pasta

• 250 gshort pasta
• or 250 g rice

To serve

• bread
• grated cheese, optional

Directions

1. Cut the beef into even sized cubes. Pat every piece completely dry. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the meat in separate batches. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Let each batch brown without moving it. Give it three or four minutes a side. Lift each batch out as it finishes.
2. Add the sliced chorizo to the pot. Fry it for about three minutes. Add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook them for a good eight minutes. Add the chopped peppers to it. Cook them for another five minutes.
3. Add the crushed garlic to the pot. Cook it for a good two minutes. Add the paprika, cumin and oregano. Fry them for thirty seconds only. Take the pot off the heat if it is very hot. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Cook them down for about eight minutes. Return the browned meat to the pot.
4. Add the bay leaf into the pot. Pour in all of the beef stock. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cooking the meat takes real time. Cover it and let it simmer slowly. Give it about forty-five minutes.
5. Add the carrot pieces in first. Give them a good ten full minutes. Check there is enough liquid first. Add more stock if it looks thick. Stir the pasta into the whole pot. Cooking the pasta takes attention. Let it cook uncovered from here. Stir it every couple of minutes. The pasta should be just tender.
6. Add more stock if it is too thick. Cook it uncovered if it is too loose. Taste it and adjust the salt now. It needs more than you expect. Add more paprika if it tastes flat.
7. Let it stand off the heat for ten minutes. Serving it is done hot in deep bowls. Ladle it out into warm deep bowls. Serve plenty of bread alongside. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• A carrero was a cart driver who cooked over a fire wherever they stopped with the single pot they could carry, and that constraint shaped the dish.
• The pasta cooks in the stew itself rather than being boiled separately, absorbing the stock and thickening the pot with its starch, which is why the result is thick rather than soupy.
• The pasta must go in near the end, since added early it turns to mush, drinks all the liquid and leaves the pot to catch and burn.

Substitutions

• Rice is used instead of pasta in some households.
• Any short sturdy pasta shape works, but long pasta tangles and cooks unevenly.

Variations

• Some cooks add chorizo alongside the beef and others use one or the other.
• A version with more vegetables and less meat is common.
• Guiso de lentejas uses lentils in place of the pasta.

History

Named for the cart drivers who cooked it on the road; a winter home dish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Guiso carrero?

Guiso carrero is a soup & stew from Uruguay: slow stew of pasta, meat and vegetables cooked in one pot. Named for the cart drivers who cooked it on the road; a winter home dish.

How long does Guiso carrero take to make?

Guiso carrero takes 25 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Guiso carrero?

Yes, within limits. Rice is used instead of pasta in some households. Any short sturdy pasta shape works, but long pasta tangles and cooks unevenly.

What is the most important thing to get right in Guiso carrero?

Cut the beef into even sized cubes. Pat every piece completely dry. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the meat in separate batches. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Let each batch brown without moving it. Give it three or four minutes a side. Lift each batch out as it finishes.