This recipe comes to us courtesy of chef Victor Albisu of Taco Bamba and Poca Madre in Washington, DC. Victor first tasted it out of a bucket in a street in Peru and has never forgotten it. It’s now a regular part of his holiday table. The soup is simple and surprisingly sophisticated. Victor showed us his technique in our 2018 holiday episode "How Chefs Holiday at Home." The dish is reminiscent of making a risotto with slow additions of liquid and lots of stirring. The silky texture and nuance of peppers make the extra attention well worth it.
This is the kind of recipe that sums up the kind of food I like to eat when I want dishes that are satisfying and a little lighter, and that perhaps don’t require much else with them. I dislike the notion that lighter or healthier eating needs to rely on bland, flavor-free, overly simple food, and the misconception that it revolves solely around all that is green or sprouted. This recipe has more to do with simplicity in content, not necessarily in flavor or process. Fresh flavors, and satisfying and enticing foods, whatever the weather... those are the ones we will most likely turn to time and again.