A thick soup for a cold day - with maize, pumpkin, kidney beans, beef, bacon and sausage. Preparation begins the night before, and a long, slow cooking will produce the best flavour.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

500g dry maize
500g dry kidney beans
4 pork chops
1kg stewing steak, chopped
250g streaky bacon, chopped
3 pork sausages, cooked and sliced
1½kg pumpkin (or squash)
2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:   50g butter
            1 tsp paprika
            1 tblsp cold water
            1 tsp salt

Topping:    6 spring onions (as green as possible), finely chopped

Preparation:

Wash the maize and the kidney beans in separate containers and leave them to soak in water overnight.

Next morning, put 2 litres water in a very large pan and bring to the boil. Add the drained maize and simmer for 1 hour.

Cut the meat off the bone of the pork chops and chop. Add the bones to the pan: these will give flavour to the locro. Add the steak, pork, bacon and sausages to the pan. Peel the pumpkin and cut it into two roughly equal pieces: take one piece and dice it, and add it to the pan. Add the kidney beans to the pan.

Continue simmering for another hour, stirring regularly to stop it sticking to the pan. Add the cumin and salt and pepper. The diced pumpkin will disintegrate, producing a thicker consistency. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce (see below).

Add the remaining pumpkin to the pan, chopped into 2cm cubes, and continue simmering for 30 minutes more. Remove from the heat.

Sauce: In a small frying pan, bring the butter to the boil, then add the paprika, water and salt.

Serve the locro in ceramic or wooden bowls, spoon 2 tblsp sauce on top, and then sprinkle the chopped spring onions on top.

Locro