Tocuyo beef hervido (broth)
The Lara broth par excellence. Beef ribs slow-cooked with cassava, yam, taro, pumpkin, mapuey and green plantain. Natural seasonings and a touch of cilantro and spearmint at the end.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) beef ribs in pieces
- 3 liters (12¾ cups) water
- 1 large onion in quarters
- 1 head of garlic split in half
- 8 sweet peppers (ají dulce), whole
- 2 leeks
- 500 g (1.1 lb) cassava, peeled and in pieces
- 300 g (10.5 oz) yam
- 300 g (10.5 oz) taro
- 300 g (10.5 oz) pumpkin in cubes
- 300 g (10.5 oz) mapuey (when in season)
- 1 green plantain in thick rounds
- 2 ears of fresh corn in pieces
- Fresh cilantro and wild cilantro
- Fresh spearmint
- Salt and pepper
- Casabe or arepa to serve alongside
Step-by-step preparation
- Bring the 3 liters (12¾ cups) of water to a boil. When it is at a full boil, add the ribs. This is important so the broth doesn't darken from uncoagulated protein.
- Skim carefully whatever rises to the surface during the first 15 minutes.
- Add the onion, the head of garlic, the sweet peppers, the leeks and a little salt. Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes over medium heat.
- When the ribs are tender, add the cassava, yam, taro, mapuey (if available) and the corn. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the green plantain and the pumpkin. Cook for 15 more minutes.
- Finish with chopped cilantro and spearmint. Adjust salt and pepper.
- Serve very hot with casabe or arepa on the side.
The Tocuyo hervido is the Lara broth par excellence. It differs from a consommé because the broth is dense, almost a meal in itself, thanks to the collagen of the ribs and the natural starch of the root vegetables.
No potato
A distinctive mark of the Tocuyo hervido—and Lara hervido in general—is that it contains no potato. The starches come from cassava, yam, taro, mapuey and green plantain: a quartet of tropical root vegetables that give body and sweetness.
The trick: boiling water
The meat goes into water that is already boiling, not into cold water. If you put it into cold water, the proteins dissolve into the broth and it becomes cloudy. With water at boiling point, the proteins on the surface of the meat seal quickly and the juices stay where they should.
Unground seasonings
Another Tocuyo mark: the seasonings go in whole or in large pieces—onion in quarters, head of garlic split in half, whole sweet peppers, whole leek. They add flavor without clouding the broth. They are removed at the end.
Variants
- Hen hervido: the same method with creole hen instead of ribs.
- Goat hervido: a Carora tradition, also common in rural Tocuyo areas.
- Fish hervido: in coastal Lara areas, with whole fish and green plantain.
How to serve
- Very hot, in a deep bowl.
- Lime to taste served on the side—each person decides whether to add acidity.
- Casabe crumbled or arepa pelada on the side.
- Hot sauce optional: the Lara native is respectful of heat, almost always serving it on the side.
Other Tocuyo recipes
Tocuyo mute (Lara mute)
Tocuyo mute is the iconic tripe (mondongo) soup of Morán Municipality and all of Lara state. Its name comes from the Quechua "mut'i" (peeled corn). A Sunday lunch in El Tocuyo with tripe, beef shank, peeled corn, chickpeas, cassava, yam, taro, pumpkin, plantain and fresh seasonings.
PanTocuyo acemita
The flagship bread of El Tocuyo and the entire central-western region of Venezuela. A dark, aromatic bread made with wheat flour, panela (raw cane sugar), anise, cinnamon and nutmeg, shaped into a ring or U.
Plato fuerteRooster olleta
An iconic dish of El Tocuyo and Carora. A thick stew of old rooster slow-cooked with beef, pork, smoked ham, chorizo, pickles and toasted wheat flour. A traditional Christmas dish and special-occasion fare.