Carapulcra con Sopa Seca

Ingredients

• 400 g papa seca (dried potato)
• 700 g pork shoulder, cut into 3 cm cubes
• 3 red onions, finely diced
• 12 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 tbsp ají panca paste
• 3 tbsp ají amarillo paste
• 60 g roasted peanuts, finely ground
• 25 g dark chocolate
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1.2 litres pork or chicken stock
• 400 g spaghetti
• 60 g coriander
• 2 tomatoes, coarsely grated
• 600 ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp ground annatto (achiote)
• 5 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Dice the onions finely and mince the garlic, keeping two thirds for the stew.
• Grind the roasted peanuts to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or mortar.
• Grate the tomatoes on a box grater and discard the skins.
• Pick the coriander leaves and tender stalks and wash them.
• Cut the pork shoulder into cubes about 3 cm across.

Steps

1. Toast the dried potato in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 6 minutes, shaking often, until it smells nutty.
2. Tip the toasted potato into a bowl, cover it with warm water and leave it to soak for 1 hour.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot and brown the pork in batches for 6 minutes a batch.
4. Lift the pork out and fry two thirds of the diced onion and garlic in the same pot for 8 minutes.
5. Stir in 4 tablespoons of ají panca paste, 2 tablespoons of ají amarillo paste, the cumin and the cloves, and cook for 4 minutes.
6. Return the pork, drain the soaked potato and add it to the pot.
7. Pour in the 1.2 litres of stock, bring the pot to the boil, then cover and simmer for 50 minutes.
8. Stir in the ground peanuts and the chocolate and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, until a spoon stands briefly upright in the stew.
9. Season the carapulcra with salt and pepper and keep it warm over the lowest heat.
10. Blend the coriander with 100 ml of the chicken stock to a smooth purée.
11. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wide pan and fry the remaining onion, garlic and the annatto for 5 minutes.
12. Add the last of the chilli pastes and the grated tomato and cook for 5 minutes until jammy.
13. Pour in the coriander purée and the rest of the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer.
14. Break the spaghetti in half, drop it into the simmering sauce and stir it under the liquid.
15. Cook for 12 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and has drunk almost all the sauce.
16. Season the noodles with salt.
17. Serve a mound of green noodles on each plate with the carapulcra spooned alongside.