Luz Mery Jonstone, a journalist, communicator and event organiser from Colombia, came to Dunedin earlier this year with her New Zealand husband. They met in London where their daughter Elizabeth was born.
Colombia is famous for its delicious soups, Luz Mery says.
They are prepared with meat such as chicken or beef, vegetables, sometimes with red or black beans, and with grains such as oats or quinoa (pronounced keen-wha) which originated in the Andes in South America.
Plantain, a starchy, tropical banana-like fruit, is cooked rather than eaten raw. They can be found in good supermarkets, as can quinoa.
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Sopa de arena or sopa de quinoa
Quantities can vary with what you have, how big your pot is and how many you are feeding:
Water
A piece of beef or chicken
Spring onions
Plantain or potato
Vegetables such as pumpkin, celery, carrot, spinach, peas or whatever you have
Oats or quinoa
Salt
Coriander and spring onion to garnish
• Put a pot of water on to boil. Chop the meat, spring onions, plantain or potatoes into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot.
• Peel and chop the pumpkin, celery and any other vegetables that take a while to cook. Add them to the pot, cover with a lid and simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Then take out the pumpkin, mash and return it to the soup. Add 4-6 tablespoons of oats or quinoa, the remaining quicker-cooking vegetables such as chopped spinach, peas and chopped carrot, and simmer for about 10 minutes with the lid ajar until these are cooked too. Season to taste.
• Ladle into bowls and serve sprinkled with chopped coriander and spring onion.
Tip: This soup is delicious served with avocado.
Thanks to Afife Harris
