Name: Chairo puneño
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 115 min
Total time: 625 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 650 g lamb shoulder with bone, cut into stew pieces (approximately 430 g edible meat); 100 g dried black chuño, soak before use, rinse and crush lightly; 1500 ml cold water, for soaking chuño, discard after soak; 2200 ml fresh water, for soup; 220 g cooked peeled wheat grains, drained; 400 g white potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks; 140 g broad beans, shelled; 120 g carrot, diced; 120 g red onion, chopped; 12 g garlic, minced; 20 ml vegetable oil; 10 g fresh mint, leaves, chopped; 3 g dried oregano; 7 g salt

Chairo puneño — Puno-style lamb, chuño and wheat soup

Yield 4 generous servings

Prep 30 minutes

Cook 115 minutes

Passive 480 minutes

Total 625 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Chairo puneño — Puno-style lamb, chuño and wheat soup

Chairo puneño is an Altiplano soup built on the contrast between preserved potato, grain and slow-cooked meat. Chuño is an Andean potato preserved through freezing and drying, and its flavour and slightly chewy texture are integral to the soup. Puno recipes may include chalona or different meats, but lamb and chuño make a coherent home preparation.

The wheat is deliberately listed cooked, while the black chuño begins dry and needs a long cold soak. This separates two very different ingredients that could otherwise be mistaken for quick-cooking grains. A few crushed pieces of soaked chuño help the broth acquire light body without turning it into a purée.

Cook the meat gently until tender before introducing the fresh potatoes and beans. The vegetables should retain their outlines, the wheat should remain separate, and the final handful of mint should freshen the substantial lamb stock without dominating it.

Ingredients

650 g lamb shoulder with bone, cut into stew pieces (approximately 430 g edible meat)
100 g dried black chuño, soak before use, rinse and crush lightly
1500 ml cold water, for soaking chuño, discard after soak
2200 ml fresh water, for soup
220 g cooked peeled wheat grains, drained
400 g white potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
140 g broad beans, shelled
120 g carrot, diced
120 g red onion, chopped
12 g garlic, minced
20 ml vegetable oil
10 g fresh mint, leaves, chopped
3 g dried oregano
7 g salt

Method

Soak the chuño.Place the dried black chuño in a covered bowl with 1500 ml cold water. Refrigerate for 8 hours, then discard the soaking liquid, rinse well, peel loose skin and crush the softened pieces lightly. The chuño is pliable inside and no dry hard centre remains. For food safety, soak refrigerated, not on a warm countertop.
Soften the aromatics.Heat 20 ml oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring until softened and fragrant. The onion looks translucent and no garlic bits are scorched.
Make the lamb broth.Add 650 g lamb, 2200 ml fresh water and 4 g salt. Bring to a boil, skim the surface, then cook at a gentle covered simmer until the lamb is tender. The meat yields when pierced and the broth tastes of lamb rather than raw aromatics. For food safety, lamb reaches at least 63 °C and rests 3 minutes before serving; long simmering continues until tender.
Add wheat and roots.Stir in cooked wheat, carrot and potato; cook gently until the potato pieces are mostly tender. A knife enters the potato with only slight resistance and wheat grains remain separate.
Add chuño and beans.Add the soaked, crushed chuño and broad beans. Simmer until the beans and preserved potato are fully hot and soft enough to eat. The broad beans are tender and chuño pieces have no hard chalky core.
Season the soup.Add remaining 3 g salt, oregano and mint; stir through and serve immediately in four generous bowls. The soup is lightly thickened but remains ladleable, with meat and tubers visible.

Practical

Success points

Cold-soak black chuño thoroughly and add potatoes only once the lamb is tender. Use fully softened black chuño and already cooked wheat; their dry and wet weights are not interchangeable.

Serving, storage and substitutions

Serve very hot while the broth flows freely; it thickens as the chuño rests. Divide meat and vegetables evenly between bowls. Refrigerate in shallow containers at 4 °C or below within 2 hours, store for 3–4 days, and reheat to 74 °C. Add only previously approved measured ingredients; extra liquid changes the yield. Chalona (salted dried lamb) appears in some versions, but its salt content and preparation differ; it is not an automatic swap for fresh lamb.

Control points

Chuño tastes chalkyit was not fully soaked or boiled — soak thoroughly and extend the final simmer.
Soup thickens excessivelyvigorous boiling breaks down potatoes and chuño — maintain a gentle simmer.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Serving size1 of 4 servings
Calories560 kcal
Carbohydrates65 g
Protein38 g
Fat17 g
Fibre8 g
Sodium900 mg

Allergens and food safety

Gluten: wheat. Keep soaked chuño chilled; refrigerate raw lamb and use separate equipment for ready-to-eat herbs.

Closing

Substantial Puno soup containing lamb, preserved potato, wheat and broad beans. A refrigerated overnight chuño soak prevents hard centres in the finished soup.

Chairo puneño — Puno-style lamb, chuño and wheat soup

Ingredients

Ingredients

Method

Practical

Success points

Serving, storage and substitutions

Control points

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Allergens and food safety

Closing

Peruvian National Dishes

Chaque arequipeño

Gamitana rellena

Mondongo huancavelicano