Locro

Method

1. Rinse the hominy and beans in a sieve under running water, put them in a large bowl, cover with three times their height of water and soak for at least 12 h. Overnight they almost double in size and then cook evenly.

   Add in this stepDried white hominy (maíz blanco pisado) 120 gDried white beans 60 g

2. Drain them, put them in a 4 L pot and add the water and bay leaves. Bring to the boil on high heat, then lower to medium-low heat, set the lid ajar and simmer for 1 h, skimming off the white foam with a ladle. Move on when the beans almost crush between your fingers.

   Add in this stepWater 1.6 LBay leaves 1

   high heat→medium-low heat

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide 24 cm frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the pork belly and shoulder, cut into 2 cm pieces, and the chorizo, sliced 1 cm thick, and brown for 7 min; work in batches if they don't fit in one layer, or they will steam instead of browning. Turn down to medium heat, add the finely chopped onion and cook for 5 min until translucent. Turn off the heat, stir in the paprika and cumin and let the residual heat toast them for 10 seconds; burnt paprika tastes bitter.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1 tbspPork belly 80 gPork shoulder 200 gFresh cooking chorizo 1Onion 1Sweet paprika 1½ tspGround cumin ½ tsp

   medium-high heat→medium heat

4. Tip the meat, onion and all the fat into the pot, along with the squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3 cm cubes. Simmer on low heat for 1 h 15 min, stirring right down to the bottom every 10 minutes: the thicker the stew gets, the more easily it catches. If it becomes too thick, add a little hot water.

   Add in this stepButternut squash or pumpkin 300 g

   low heat

5. Add the corn and salt and simmer on low heat for 20 min more. It is done when most of the squash has melted, the stew is thick and creamy and the hominy is soft when you bite it. Press any remaining squash against the side of the pot with the back of a ladle to thicken it further. Taste and adjust the salt.

   Add in this stepSweetcorn kernels (canned or frozen) 100 gSalt 1¼ tsp

   low heat

6. Quiquirimichi (spicy oil): warm the oil in a small pan on low heat for 1 min. Turn off the heat and stir in the paprika, pepper flakes and thinly sliced spring onions; the oil turns deep red. Keep the heat low: oil hot enough to smoke will burn the paprika. Ladle the locro into bowls and spoon a little quiquirimichi over each.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil (for the quiquirimichi) 3 tbspSweet paprika (for the quiquirimichi) 1½ tspRed pepper flakes ½ tspSpring onions 1

   low heat