Chincha Mancha Pecho

Cut the pork into roughly 4 cm pieces. Peel the Yungay potatoes and cut into roughly 2 cm cubes. Finely chop the red onion and tomato. Wash and pick the leaves from the basil and parsley. Measure everything before starting, as the two pots will later cook almost in parallel.

Place the pork in a large pot with the water and one fifth of the salt. Bring to a boil, skim off visible foam, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pork is cooked and beginning to tenderize. Remove the meat and reserve all the broth.

Return the broth to a boil and add the Yungay potatoes. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, only until the cubes are tender on the outside but still hold their shape when lifted. Remove carefully and reserve the broth again; the potatoes will finish cooking in the carapulcra.

Heat the vegetable oil in the large pot over medium heat. Add slightly more than half the ground garlic, seven tenths of the cumin, half the pepper, the ají panca paste, and slightly less than half the salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently and adding spoonfuls of reserved broth if it threatens to stick, until the chili base is dark, glossy, and free of raw aroma. Add the pork and about 450 ml of broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and lightly crushed toasted peanuts and cook another 6 to 8 minutes, stirring gently, until the stew is thick and juicy, with some potato broken down while some pieces remain visible.

While the carapulcra finishes, heat the achiote oil in a medium pot. Add the red onion and cook for 4 minutes. Add the tomato, remaining ground garlic, remaining cumin, remaining pepper, and one tenth of the salt. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the tomato breaks down and the seasoning base becomes glossy and concentrated.

Blend the basil and parsley with about 100 ml of the reserved broth until smooth and green. Add it to the seasoning base and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the raw herb aroma fades. Add the noodles, about 650 ml of broth, and the remaining salt. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the noodles are cooked and have absorbed almost all the liquid. Turn off the heat while they are still juicy and thoroughly seasoned, before they dry out.

Serve a generous portion of Chincha sopa seca immediately alongside the carapulcra, allowing a little of the stew to touch the noodles without completely mixing the two. The carapulcra should be thick and red, while the sopa seca remains moist, aromatic, and free of pooled broth. 🇵🇪