Arequipa, Cusco and Puno delight us with a perfect delicacy for the cold winter days.

Peruvian gastronomy delights anyone who tastes it. For this reason, there is no one able to resist the taste of the famous “ceviche” or savoring every bite of a juicy “lomo saltado”. El Chairo, on the other hand, is not far behind, this delicious soup from the Peruvian highlands has astonished more than one palate with a perfect blend of Andean ingredients.

Variety of potatoes in Cusco

This strong soup is traditional from the Andean region and has been part of the Peruvian history. Over the years, it has been the perfect companion of peasants, who worked hard until very late away from their homes. The Chairo provided them the necessary food to cope with the hard work and the certainty that their food would remain in good conditions until the end of their day, since the ingredients were kept in perfect condition for many hours.

The best soup, the Chairo

The delicious taste of this Andean soup can be found in different regions of Peru, mainly in Arequipa, Cusco and Puno, where we can taste different variants of this dish. These versions keep the original essence of the Chairo, but certain ingredients can change according to the place where it is prepared.

Here is the technique to prepare one of the recipes and enjoy this delicious soup at home. The following ingredients are needed:

• ½ kg of meat
• 100 gr. of cecina
• 1 dried tongue of lamb
• 1 piece of pumpkin (large)
• 10 chuños (soaked)
• 6 potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 1 piece of cabbage
• 2 green choclos
• 1 handful of beans
• 3 tbsp. ground yellow pepper
• 1 yellow pepper (toasted)
• 1 branch of amaranth
• Oil and salt to taste

Now, with everything in the kitchen, the magical preparation of this recipe begins. The first step will be to place in a pot the cecina, the meat and the tongue of lamb, add a lot of water to prepare a broth with these ingredients.

Ingredients from Cusco used for typical dishes

Put the ground yellow pepper and half of the onion cut into squares in a different pot, pour a little water and let it cook; when it’s ready, add a trickle of oil until they turn golden brown. Then, strain the broth and add it to the pot containing the aforementioned preparation.

Get ready, it’s time to take out the knives and chop the missing ingredients. Cut into medium pieces the meats with which you prepared the broth and in small pieces the chuño, the pumpkin and the carrot. Chop the cabbage and cook the corn. Potatoes, yellow pepper, amaranth and beans must be finely filleted.

Finally place all the ingredients in the pot with the stock, the yellow pepper and the onion, until everything is well cooked. When finishing this exquisite preparation, serve a very good portion and enjoy this wonderful Andean dish.