Ingredients
Broth
- 1.2 kgbeef shank on the bone, plus 500 g short rib or brisket
- 1marrow bone
- 4 litrescold water
- 1onion, halved
- 1red pepper, halved
- 4garlic cloves
- 3spring onions
- 1 bunchcoriander stalks
- 1 tspground cumin
- 2 tspsalt, plus more to finish
Root vegetables
- 500 gcassava (yuca), peeled and in 5 cm chunks
- 300 gñampí or taro, peeled and chunked
- 300 gtiquisque, or more taro, chunked
- 400 gpotatoes, halved
- 300 gwinter squash (ayote), in wedges
- 2corn cobs, cut into 4 cm rounds
- 2carrots, in thick rounds
- 2chayotes, quartered
- 1green plantain, peeled and cut into 4 cm lengths
- ¼white cabbage, in wedges
To serve
- Plain white rice
- Lime wedges
- Salsa Lizano and chopped coriander
Directions
- Put the beef, ribs and marrow bone in a very large pot with the cold water and bring slowly to a bare simmer; starting cold and never boiling is what keeps the broth clear.
- Skim the grey foam thoroughly for the first 15 minutes, then add the onion, pepper, garlic, spring onions, coriander stalks, cumin and salt.
- Simmer gently, half-covered, for 2 hours until the meat is tender enough to pull with a fork but still holding on the bone. Top up with hot water to keep everything submerged.
- Lift out and discard the spent aromatics, and skim the fat from the surface if you want a lighter broth.
- Add the hardest vegetables first: cassava, plantain, tiquisque and corn. Simmer 20 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, ñampí and chayote and simmer 15 minutes more, until a knife slides into the cassava without resistance.
- Add the squash and cabbage for the last 8–10 minutes only, so the squash softens and lightly thickens the broth without disintegrating.
- Taste and correct the salt now; a pot this size needs more than you expect. The broth should be clear, beefy and sweet from the roots.
- Serve in two courses, as Costa Ricans do: a cup of the hot broth first, then a deep bowl of meat and vegetables with a scoop of white rice, lime, coriander and Lizano at the table.
Technique
- Olla de carne is Sunday food, cooked slowly in a big pot and eaten by an extended family. The point is the sequence: every root goes in at the moment that leaves it intact but yielding.
- The tropical roots are not interchangeable in texture. Cassava turns silky and slightly stringy, ñampí and tiquisque go creamy and slightly slippery, and they thicken the broth between them.
- Skimming matters more than any seasoning. An unskimmed pot tastes muddy and looks grey.
Substitutions
- Where tiquisque and ñampí are unavailable, use extra taro and a small sweet potato; the broth loses some silkiness but the dish holds up.
- Beef shank is essential for the collagen. Lean stewing steak gives a thin, characterless broth.
Variations
- Leftovers become olla de carne’s second life: the meat and roots are mashed and fried into torta, or the broth is used for arroz con carne.
- Some households add a whole ear of corn per person and serve it as the centrepiece of the bowl.
History
A long-simmered beef and root vegetable pot with yuca, ayote and plantain, cooked for Sunday family lunches.
Frequently asked questions
What is Olla de carne?
Olla de carne is a soup & stew from Costa Rica: beef and root-vegetable soup simmered all day. A long-simmered beef and root vegetable pot with yuca, ayote and plantain, cooked for Sunday family lunches.
How long does Olla de carne take to make?
Olla de carne takes 35 min of preparation and 3 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Olla de carne?
Yes, within limits. Where tiquisque and ñampí are unavailable, use extra taro and a small sweet potato; the broth loses some silkiness but the dish holds up. Beef shank is essential for the collagen. Lean stewing steak gives a thin, characterless broth.
What is the most important thing to get right in Olla de carne?
Put the beef, ribs and marrow bone in a very large pot with the cold water and bring slowly to a bare simmer; starting cold and never boiling is what keeps the broth clear.
