Caldo de Cabeza

Caldo de cabeza is one of the oldest soups of the Andean world, a whole-head beef broth prepared since pre-colonial times in Peru's highlands as a restorative after heavy labour or festivities. Every market in Cusco, Puno, and Ayacucho has at least one vendor boiling a cow's head from dawn, ladling out bowls of milky, collagen-rich broth to workers before sunrise.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) beef head pieces (cheek, snout, or bone-in jowl), cleaned
• 500g (1.1 lb) beef offal trimmings (tongue root or ear pieces, optional)
• 1 large white onion, halved
• 1 head garlic, halved crossways
• 2 tsp (6g) cumin seeds, toasted
• 2 tsp (6g) dried oregano
• 2 dried ají panca chillies, seeds removed
• 3 litres (12 cups) cold water
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 100g (3.5 oz) white cabbage, chopped roughly
• Salt and white pepper
• Fresh spearmint and huacatay (Peruvian black mint), to serve
• Lime wedges to serve
• Ají amarillo sauce or rocoto paste to serve

Instructions

1. Rinse beef head pieces thoroughly under cold running water for 5 minutes. Place in a large pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Pour off this first water.
2. Refill pot with 3 litres fresh cold water. Add onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and ají panca. Bring to a boil, skimming foam continuously for the first 10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 2 hours 30 minutes until the meat is falling off the bones and the broth is deeply golden.
4. Remove head pieces; let cool slightly. Pick all meat off the bones — cheek, jowl, and any other tender pieces. Discard bones. Strain the broth.
5. Return broth to the pot with the potato and cabbage. Simmer 15 minutes until potato is cooked through.
6. Add picked meat back. Season with salt and white pepper.
7. Ladle into deep bowls. Place herb bundles of fresh mint and huacatay on the table alongside lime wedges and chilli sauce.

Cook's Notes: Huacatay is essential for authentic caldo de cabeza — its anise-meets-mint flavour is distinctive to Andean cuisine. Dried huacatay is available at Latin American grocers. The broth's collagen richness comes from the gelatin in the head bones; a good caldo will set to jelly when cooled.