Sopa de Quinua

The daily soup of the Peruvian sierra: quinoa simmered with potato, vegetables, and highland herbs

Origin: The Peruvian Highlands (Cusco and Puno)

From the journey of Quinoa.

Sopa de quinua is the everyday soup of the Peruvian and Bolivian sierra, the warming, nourishing pot that has fed the highlands for thousands of years and still appears daily on tables, at market stalls, and in homes from Cusco to Puno to La Paz. It is plain, honest food: quinoa simmered in broth with potato, onion, tomato, and whatever vegetables the season gives, brightened with the herbs of the highland kitchen and, very often, finished with a little fresh cheese or a beaten egg. In the cold thin air of the Altiplano, a bowl of hot quinoa soup is both comfort and sustenance. The dish is the soup form of the Andean staple trinity, quinoa standing alongside the potato and the bean as the foundation of highland nutrition, and it carries the grain's complete protein into the simplest and most accessible of dishes. Every highland cook makes it a little differently, with the potatoes of their valley, the herbs of their garden, and the broth of the day, but the heart of it is always the quinoa, simmered until the grains soften and thicken the soup to a satisfying body. As with all quinoa cookery, the grain must be rinsed well first to remove its bitter saponin coat; thereafter the soup all but makes itself, the quinoa swelling and thickening the broth into one of the most sustaining everyday dishes of the Andes.

Ingredients

Soup

150 g white quinoa, rinsed thoroughly under cold water
300 g waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, diced
1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock
salt and pepper, to taste

Base

2 tbsp oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
0.5 tsp ají amarillo paste or a pinch of chilli (optional)

Finish

3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or parsley, to finish
100 g fresh cheese (queso fresco), crumbled, to serve (optional)

Method

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in several changes of cold water until the water runs clear, to wash away the bitter saponins.
Heat the oil in a large pot and soften the onion for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, cumin, and ají paste, and cook to a fragrant base, about 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes and carrot, stir to coat, then pour in the stock and bring to a boil.
Add the rinsed quinoa, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, until the quinoa and vegetables are tender and the soup has thickened.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in most of the coriander.
Ladle into bowls, finish with the remaining herbs and, if you like, a scatter of crumbled fresh cheese.

Notes

Endlessly adaptable: add squash, broad beans, or shredded chard as the season allows. Ají amarillo gives the authentic Peruvian warmth and fruitiness; a pinch of cayenne is a fair substitute. The soup thickens as it stands and is even better the next day.

The Gastrographer

Name: Sopa de Quinua
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: The Peruvian Highlands
Ingredients: 150 g white quinoa, rinsed thoroughly under cold water; 2 tbsp oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 1 tsp ground cumin; 0.5 tsp ají amarillo paste or a pinch of chilli (optional); 300 g waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed; 1 carrot, diced; 1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock; salt and pepper, to taste; 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or parsley, to finish; 100 g fresh cheese (queso fresco), crumbled, to serve (optional)

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control