Argentinian Locro with Butternut Squash

📝 Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash (about 1 kg)
• 400 g minced pork, 15% fat
• 2 tins white beans (530 g drained)
• 2 tins sweetcorn (280 g drained)
• 1 brown onion + 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp sunflower oil
• 2 tsp sweet paprika + 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 chicken stock cube + 800 ml hot water
• 2 spring onions
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large casserole dish with lid
• Peeler
• Kitchen knife
• Chopping board
• Wooden spoon
• Colander

📖 Steps

1. Peel the butternut squash with a vegetable peeler, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and cut the flesh into 2 cm cubes. Peel and finely chop the onion, chop the garlic. Rinse and drain the beans and sweetcorn. Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water.
2. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over a medium-high heat, add the minced pork and break it up with a wooden spoon for 6 to 8 minutes, until nicely browned in places: this browning gives the stew all its flavour.
3. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat, stirring, until soft. Stir in the garlic, paprika and cumin and stir for 1 minute, without letting the paprika burn, as it would turn bitter.
4. Add the butternut cubes, bay leaf and stock: the liquid should almost cover the squash. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes over a low heat, until the tip of a knife slides easily into the cubes.
5. Add the white beans and sweetcorn, then continue cooking uncovered over a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and scraping the bottom so nothing sticks.
6. When the squash is meltingly soft, partly mash it against the sides with the back of the wooden spoon: it thickens and binds the locro, which should have the texture of a thick, creamy stew. Remove the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.
7. Finely slice the spring onions, both the white and green parts. Serve the locro piping hot in deep bowls, sprinkled with spring onions and a grind of pepper.