We’re back to one of the myriad versions of locro found around South America. I’ve covered the Ecuadorian locro de papas, which is probably the most emblematic of the country, and in many ways, this one seems like just a fancied up version of that. But it does have some differences, enough that it’s considered it’s own version – Locro de Camarón y Choclo (Shrimp & Corn Locro).

Let’s start with the shrimp preparation. For whatever reason, none of the neighborhood fish places had raw shrimp, all had par-cooked, so when I hit the step of cooking the shrimp, I limited it to just enough to sear the surface with the spices on them, about 30 seconds, because I didn’t want them to get rubbery. Otherwise it would have been a bit longer to cook through. They don’t actually need a lot of cooking, because they’re going to get added into the hot soup and finish cooking there as well.

We have the shrimp, salt, pepper, garlic, and, traditionally, achiote paste. But, achiote paste isn’t available here – several sites recommended a mix of equal parts paprika, cumin, and turmeric, and just a splash of white vinegar to make it a paste, so that’s what I did.

Mix the shrimp with the spices (reserve about a third of the achiote paste for the soup base), and let sit for about an hour.

Just a quick sear in a little butter, and then set aside.

Potatoes cut in chunks, cream, milk, white wine (traditionally, probably something like chicha, but every recipe I found for this one uses wine), corn (some versions use corn on the cob cut in slices about 2cm thick), onion, celery, butter, the remaining achiote paste, and salt. Not pictured, a liter/quart, more or less, of shrimp or fish stock, and some chopped cilantro (or parsley if you don’t like cilantro), and garnishes (avocado, green onion, chilies, limes).

Sauté the onion and celery in the butter with the achiote paste and salt, until soft.

Deglaze with the white wine and cook down to half the volume of liquid.

Add the potatoes and stock, bring to a boil and simmer for twenty minutes.

Coarsely mash the potatoes (I used a potato masher), you want this to still be a bit chunky. Add the corn and milk and cook for ten minutes.

Add the cream, shrimp, and cilantro, cook five minutes. Adjust seasoning.

And serve. Traditional garnishes include lime wedges, green onion, avocado, and/or chilies.

The finished Locro de Camarón y Choclo!