March 2020

Variations of this humble yet elegant soup (loco de papas) are found in both Ecuador and Peru. For richness, it often is made with both milk and cheese, but we skip most of the dairy to keep the flavors lighter and fresher, adding queso fresco only as a garnish. Locro do papas gets its yellow-orange hue from annatto seeds (also called achiote), but we achieve a similar color by using red or orange bell peppers and a good measure of sweet paprika.

Between exacting methods and complicated construction, baking a cake can be a daunting affair. A loaf cake, however, pairs the polish of a more elegant confection with the ease of a quick bread. A green-tinged, nut-topped version from a bakery in Paris inspired our take with ground pistachios and orange zest, made richer with Greek-style yogurt.