Locro

Locro

Typical Argentine locro
Type	Stew
Main ingredients	Potatoes/Papas, Meat (usually beef, sometimes beef jerky or chorizo), vegetables

Locro (from the Quechua ruqru) is a hearty thick stew popular along the Andes mountain range. It's one of the national dishes of Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. The dish is a classic corn, beans, and potato or pumpkin soup well known along the South American Andes. Typically locro is made using a specific kind of potato called “papa chola”, which has a unique taste and is difficult to find outside of its home region.

The defining ingredients are corn, some form of meat (usually beef, but sometimes beef jerky or chorizo), and vegetables. Other ingredients vary widely, and typically include onion, beans, squash or pumpkin. It is mainly eaten in winter.

In Argentina it spread from the back to the frontCuyo region to the rest of the country. It is considered a national dish and is often served on May 25, the anniversary of the May Revolution. A red hot sauce made from red peppers and paprika known as chimichurri is served sometimes on the side.

In Ecuador, a variant known as yahuarlocro is popular. It incorporates lamb entrails and lamb blood to the recipe.

Locro at the table, with quiquirimichi and bread.

Locro being served at Simoca market, Argentina

Big pots of locro cooked on coal

Argentine Quiquirimichi