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SRC Orphan No More: From Arepas to Zwetschgen

Every now and then, somehow, there are some bloggers whose Secret Recipe Club partners flake out and don't cook or post. It's a horrible feeling to be left out, so when that happens, the group organizers put a call out for some quick cooking. I was happy to step-in today and help make sure that the gal behind From Arepas to Zwetschgen (the blog formerly known as Belchertown-Bites) was no longer an orphan.

What a thrill to see that she is also on a cooking around the world adventure! The sub-header for her blog is: International Kitchen Adventures. There is a woman after my own heart. She has cooked many more countries that we have; we've just hit the 'G's. But we have cooked many of the same dishes - Papas con Salsa de Aguacate, from Columbia. Here's hers; here's mine. We've used similar ingredients for different countries. When she cooked Canada, she made Canadian Maple Walnut Pancakes; I made a Maple Mousse.

But as I don't have a month to peruse and explore her website, I looked for something that I could whip up for dinner with what I know I have in my kitchen already. I settled on her Pisca Andina, a potato-cheese soup from Venezuela. I didn't have any milk, so I subbed some plain yogurt; I switched out the cheese to a queso fresco versus the asiago and mozzarella that she used; and I added more herbs. It was a hit!

Pisca Andina

Ingredients:
10 potatoes, scrubbed, dried, and cubed
6 C  organic chicken broth
2 spring onions
4 scallions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, mashed
2 T butter
salt
pepper
yogurt
1 C crumbled queso fresco
1 T fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T fresh mint, chopped
1 T fresh dill, chopped
1 T fresh scallion, chopped

Place potatoes and broth in a pot and simmer for 25 minutes. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add scallions, spring onions, and garlic and cook until transparent, about 1-2 minutes. Add to the potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Add yogurt for desired consistency. Reduce heat to very low, add cheese, and stir until cheese is melted. Stir in herbs and serve.

I also used her Oven-Roasted Vegetables and Potatoes as inspiration for our side-dish tonight - roasted broccoli and romanesco. I don't know why I've never thought to roast broccoli. Yummy.

Comments

  1. WahOo adopting SRC orphans! Love the idea of traveling around the world with cooking, might be a good resolution for 2013 (doing local produce this year).
    Love the SRC pick, and seeing as how hubby is a cheesehead I see this recipe in our future!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks really interesting. Potato soup is always good and this has lots of fun flavor in it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG. potato cheese soup. That's September calling, isn't it? Yum.

    ReplyDelete

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