This is one of those amazing soups that I have yet to make this soup in a restaurant setting, but the few times I've had it it's been amazing. I personally avoid using peanuts in restaurants (unless needed), because it's one of those allergies that is normally fairly severe and more common than a lot of the ones out there now. Aside from that, this is an amazing soup. There are a lot of variations to the soup, from using french fries, to throwing rice in there, but the one that I created had all the base items, while focusing on a couple of the components.
This is a well balanced soup with it's ingredients, but there are a couple ingredients that stand out. To me the broth and the meat used are the two items that make this an outstanding soup. The broth I made is chicken based but the peanuts thicken it and add a rich base flavor. The meat I used for it was short ribs, which I short smoked to add that underlying flavor.
You can make this a one pot dish provided you start with your beef, and puree the peanuts prior to adding them to the soup. I decided to short smoke the ribs when I made this, because I wanted that added flavor as the base of the soup. You can skip that part if you like, but I promise you that added smoke flavor really makes this soup stand out.
I used boneless beef short ribs. You can make it with bone in, just remember to remove the bones prior to serving. The recipe also calls for raw peanuts. They cook in the soup to add more flavor to the broth so if you can get raw you should. Ideally you have skinned peanuts but you can remove the husks fairly easily, or you can use roasted unsalted peanuts if you would like. You can make the soup with skins on, but it will give the soup a pinkish hue.
Ingredients
Beef Short ribs 4 ea
Avenue Spice 1 T
Chili Powder 1 tsp
Chicken Stock 2 qts
Potatoes, diced 4 large
Water 1 qt
Green Peas, frozen 1 cup
Peanuts, raw & skin on 4 cups
Onion, diced, red 1 ea
Onion, diced, Spanish or sweet 1 ea
Garlic, diced 4 cloves
Green Pepper, diced 1 ea
Carrots, irregular cut 4 ea
Cumin 1 T
Oregano, fresh 1 oz
Serrano, minced 1 ea
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish
Chopped peanut, pickled jalapeño, and parsley relish
Method of Procedure
Season your ribs with chili powder, avenue spice, and 1 tsp of cumin. Let sit for 24-48 hours.
Take your ribs, either slice into strips or dice into cubes*.
If starting with peanuts that have skin, preheat your oven to 325 and place your peanuts on a sheet tray. Roast for 10 minutes while stirring every couple of minutes. Let cool for a couple of minutes, then take small handfuls and rub them in your hands to remove the husks.
After your peanuts are husked, place into a pot and cover with chicken stock. Bring to a low to medium boil and cook for 15 minutes. Strained peanuts while reserving liquid.
Place peanuts into a food processor and puree. Add the cooking liquid while pureeing to help reach a smoother consistency (unless you strain it, you will have peanut bits).
In your soup pot saute onions, Serrano pepper, green peppers, and garlic until browned.**
Add beef ribs and saute for an additional 15 minuts till browned.
Add your chicken stock and water (or your reserved braising liquid and water) and bring to a boil.
Drop to a simmer and add oregano and cumin.
If using raw short ribs, cook for at least 5 hours on a low heat. If using braised ribs, cook for 1 hour.
Add your carrots and potatoes and cook for an additional 1 hour.
Taste and season to your liking.
To serve, add green peas and heat until done. Garnish with chopped peanut relish.
*If smoking, prior to cutting follow these instructions
Do a heavy short smoke for 30 minutes. Let stand in the smoke for an additional 30 minutes to infuse more flavor. Season lightly with avenue spice and sear on each side in a cast iron pan.
Place into a braising pan or loaf pan, and cover 3/4 with chicken stock. Braise for 6 hours on 275.
Remove from Liquid and store, pressed, overnight in the fridge.
**The green pepper, onion, and garlic mixture is called ahogau in Bolivian cuisine. It's the equivalent of trinity, or mirepoix for this cuisine.
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