Olla de Carne
A soul-warming Sunday-lunch soup of beef simmered slowly with a parade of Costa Rican root vegetables — yuca, ñampí, chayote, plantain, corn, and potato. The broth is served first, the meat and vegetables over rice after.
Ingredients
- 2 lbbeef shank or short ribs (bone-in)
- 2 corn on the cob (cut into thirds)
- 1/2 lbyuca (peeled and cut in chunks)
- 2 chayote (peeled and quartered)
- 2 ripe plantain (peeled, cut in chunks)
- 3 potatoes (peeled and halved)
- 2 carrots (cut in large pieces)
- 1 onion (quartered)
- 3 clovesgarlic (minced)
- 1 bunchcilantro
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Choose bone-in beef for flavor — shank (with marrow), short ribs, or a mix. Place in a large pot, cover with about 3 quarts of water, and bring to a boil. Skim off the gray foam that rises, which keeps the broth clear.
- 2
Add the onion, garlic, a little cilantro stem, and salt. Lower to a gentle simmer and cook, partly covered, until the meat is nearly tender, about 1.5 hours. Patience here is what builds the broth.
300:00 - 3
Add vegetables in order of how long they take: yuca, carrots, and corn first (they hold up), and simmer 15 minutes.
15:00 - 4
Add the chayote, plantain, and potatoes and simmer until everything is fork-tender, about 25 to 30 minutes more. If you have ñampí or tiquisque, add them with the chayote.
25:00 - 5
Stir in fresh cilantro at the end. Serve the brothy soup first as a starter, then plate the beef and vegetables over white rice with a wedge of lime and a dab of Salsa Lizano.
Notes
This is communal, all-afternoon food — make a big pot. The vegetable lineup is flexible; tropical tubers like ñampí, tiquisque, and arracache are traditional if you can find them. Save leftover broth and vegetables to blend into a quick sopa the next day. A squeeze of lime at the table brightens the whole bowl. Photo: Rodtico21, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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