Creole soup: learn how to prepare Martha Palacios de Panchita’s secret recipe

So many good things come together in a single bowl of Creole soup that it would be unfair to compare it with any other specimen in its category. In the pot, among others, angel hair noodles are gathered; fried bread; poached egg; mince; beef stock; and generous amounts of chili. How many pains this powerful mixture will have cured. From the saddened heart to the most downcast spirit: there is no evil that escapes the powers of Creole soup. Even more so this season.

Martha Palacios learned the secrets behind a good Creole soup when she was just a child. Her father then ran a small restaurant in the center of Lima, popular for its good portions and the quality of its ingredients. It was there where she tried the hearty stew for the first time, although in those years she called it meat soup or milk soup. “It is usually prepared with steak, but my dad used it with tenderloin, even when they told him that he would not make a profit.”recalls Martha, cook at the front of the Panchita restaurant. “We Peruvians have always had a predilection for soups, since pre-Hispanic times, with chupes,” Palacios continues. “That’s why Creole soup is for all year round. Of course, taking it in winter is like receiving a hug, it makes you feel warm,” he adds.

As with any dish, Creole soup also has its little tricks. The first of them has to do with dried oregano: Palacios insists that this is a fundamental ingredient in the preparation – we believe him – and it is better if it is freshly ground. The second concerns the broth. “We need a good beef bone broth, not necessarily apple bones, but with vegetables,” the cook suggests. Afterwards you can add ground beef or minced meat to the soup, whatever you prefer.

Here is Martha’s complete recipe to prepare at home. As she says, nothing is difficult if it is done with the heart.

Creole soup recipe

(For 3 people)

Ingredients:

1 cup steak, finely chopped into squares

3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons of finely chopped tomato

1 spoon of ground panca chili

2 liters of beef broth

150 grams of angel hair noodles

3 eggs

¾ cup evaporated milk

3 slices of bread

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt, pepper, finely ground dried oregano

Preparation:

Once the steak is chopped, season the meat and set aside. In a pot we put oil to heat well, add the seasoned minced meat, seal it and set aside.

In that same pot we make the dressing of garlic, onion, tomato and liquefied panca chili. Brown well until all the ingredients are mixed.

Once the dressing is well worked, we season and add the hot beef broth. We let it boil, adjust the seasoning, add the noodles and let them cook.

Once ready, we return the meat and crack the eggs. We let it cook without moving much.

We adjust the flavor again and add evaporated milk and ground oregano at the moment. Served hot with a slice of fried bread.