Porotos con Riendas (bean and noddles) are probably one of the most traditional main dishes in Chilean cuisine, and its name is originally a peasant metaphor for the strips of pigskin that were added to the cooking of beans in its origins.
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How to Make Porotos con Riendas?
Today, Porotos con Riendas are typically prepared with pork skin, pork cracklings, and mainly longaniza sausage, but there are even versions that incorporate Swiss chard and other ingredients, optionally topped with a fried egg or pickled onions in any of its versions.
Nutritional Information
Category: Main Dishes
Cuisine: Chilean
Calories: 450
Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooking: 60 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Porotos con Riendas step by step
Ingredients
- 500 g of brown beans
- 500 g of peeled and chopped pumpkin
- 2 tablespoons of oil or lard
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
- 2 beef stock cubes
- ½ finely chopped onion
- ½ finely chopped red bell pepper
- ¼ packet of noodles
- Oregano
- Cumin
- Cilantro
- Salt
- 1 longaniza sausage (optional)
- 1 egg (optional)
- 1 pickled onion (optional)
Preparation
- In a large bowl, soak the beans covered in water for 24 hours, drain the water, rinse, and set aside.
- In a pressure cooker, cook the beans covered with water along with the pumpkin, beef stock cubes, and salt to taste for about 35 to 40 minutes. In a regular pot, cook the beans covered with twice the volume of water for 90 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Heat the oil or lard over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, add the grated carrot, chopped bell pepper, paprika, oregano, and cumin to taste, stir for a few minutes to integrate aromas and flavors.
- Add the sautéed mixture and the noodles cut in half to the freshly cooked beans, adjust the seasoning and simmer for another 10 minutes until everything is well cooked and the broth acquires a creamy texture.
- Serve the Porotos con Riendas immediately, garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and add a longaniza sausage (whole or chopped) and/or a boiled egg or pickled onions as optional toppings.
Tips for making Porotos con Riendas
Check the beans before soaking; if they have wrinkles on the skin or are broken, it means they are not in the best condition for preparation.
If possible, always prefer to use a pressure cooker; it saves energy and preserves the flavor and nutritional properties of the food.
Origin of Chilean Porotos con Riendas
Porotos con Riendas is a dish originated in the Chilean countryside as part of the pig slaughtering process, in which all parts of the animal, such as fat, bacon, and meat, were sought to be used in recipes such as head cheese, marrow jelly, or offal broths.
Did you know?
The leather obtained then was not only used as material for tools or clothing because particularly in times of food scarcity, pigskin was also used in meals, being one of the most recognizable dishes today, Porotos con Riendas.
