Recipe File: Argentine Locro

Locro is one of those dishes that inspires rivalries and stirs intense family pride.  It seems there are countless versions of this hearty Argentine stew from the northwestern provinces, and of course, any recipe handed down from the venerable abuela is considered a culinary masterpiece.  Period.  Discussions about family recipes often go something like this: 

"My grandmother's recipe for locro is the absolute best.  I've never tasted anything that even comes close."

"Bah!  Your grandmother's recipe isn't fit to grace the trashcan in my grandmother's kitchen."

You get the picture.

Faced with a dizzying array of recipes that had excellent lineage but invariably involved some objectionable ingredient like tripe (sorry, Grandma), I did the most sensible thing I could think of – I took the abuela out of the equation.  I eventually settled on a recipe by Dan Perlman, an American chef and food writer living in Buenos Aires. 

As Dan explains on his food blog SaltShaker, he developed this locro recipe after researching other recipes, talking with home cooks, and tinkering a bit in the kitchen.  Though the preparation is a bit labor-intensive, the result is a rich stew that's packed with flavor and very satisfying. 

While I followed the recipe directions to the letter, I did tinker a bit with the ingredients.  I increased the amount of butternut squash and yams, I substituted smoked pancetta (panceta ahumada) for slab bacon, and I used sliced scallions as a garnish in addition to the chili oil.  Oh yeah, and I threw in an extra chorizo for good luck. 

A big thank you to Dan for this recipe.  This locro would surely make any Argentine grandmother proud! 

Argentine Locro
Recipe by Dan Perlman
Serves 6

Ingredients

1 cup dried white corn [hominy]
2 ears of fresh yellow sweet corn, cut the kernels off the cobs
2 medium white onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2- ¼" thick slices of smoked slab bacon, cubed
1 chorizo or other slightly spicy sausage, sliced
2- 1" thick pieces of osso buco [beef shanks], or similar cut
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cup of butternut squash, peeled and diced small
1 cup of yams, peeled and diced small
1 large baking potato, peeled and diced small
2 plum tomatoes, cut in small wedges
salt to taste
chili oil

Directions

Soak the dried white corn in 2 cups of water overnight (at least 12 hours). In a large stewpot put the onions, garlic, bacon, sausage, and osso buco. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the fresh corn kernels, the paprika, cumin, bay leaves, a little salt, and the pepper. Continue to cook, stirring regularly, for roughly ten minutes. Add the soaked white corn kernels, water and all (may as well add in the extra corn flavor). Add hot water to pot to about 2" above the level of the ingredients. Add the remaining vegetables, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring every 15-20 minutes, for at least two hours.

At this point, uncover the pot and remove the bay leaves. Fish out the pieces of osso buco, discard the bones, and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces, then return it to the pot. Continue to stir over low heat – at this point you want to start using the back of a wide spoon or spatula to press the ingredients against the sides of the pan. The idea is to have the starchy vegetables and tomato disintegrate into the soup. The corn and meat will tend to resist being mashed, which is fine. As you continue to stir, mash, and cook, the soup should gradually become thicker and thicker. Continue until it’s a nice, rich, stew consistency. Add salt to taste.

Serve in bowls, and drizzle a little chili oil over the top if you like things spicy. I like to make my own chili oil by soaking a teaspoon of dried chili flakes in a tablespoon of olive oil for 2-3 hours (while everything else is cooking).

Other recipes from my blog:

Chipá
Dulce de Leche
Empanadas de Humita