Carapulcra
Carapulcra is widely considered one of the oldest dishes in Peru, with origins stretching back to pre-Incan times. This ancient stew is built around papa seca, potatoes that have been boiled, freeze-dried in the high Andes climate, and then toasted, giving them a concentrated, nutty flavor unlike any fresh potato. The rehydrated papa seca is simmered with braised pork, peanuts, aji panca and aji mirasol chiles, cloves, cumin, and a touch of dark chocolate until everything melts into a thick, dark, extraordinarily rich stew. The combination of the earthy dried potatoes, roasted peanuts, and complex chile sauce creates layers of flavor that defy simple description. Carapulcra is often served alongside sopa seca, a stewed pasta dish, in the famous pairing known as carapulcra con sopa seca.
Ingredients
- 250 g papa seca (dried Peruvian potatoes)
- 600 g pork shoulder, cut into 3 cm cubes
- 3 tablespoons aji panca paste
- 2 tablespoons aji mirasol paste
- 100 g roasted peanuts, finely ground
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 20 g dark chocolate (70% cacao), finely chopped
- 500 ml pork or chicken broth
- 120 ml red wine or chicha de jora
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
9 step-by-step instructions with timers and hands-free Cook Mode narration, in the OriginEats app.
- Portion scaling for any number of servings
- Auto-generated grocery list, grouped by aisle
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Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
- Fat
- 18 g
