I have been trying to find arracacha here in the US for a long time to no avail. I even had my friends and family in Colombia send me pictures of this vegetable and took the photos to various local markets and still, no luck! Sopa de arracacha is a very popular soup in Colombia, which is made chunky or there’s the creamy version known as crema de arracacha. Arracacha is a root vegetable from the Andean region of the country. It’s also known as apio criollo (creole celery) in Venezuela, zanahoria blanca in Ecuador, virraca in Peru, and mandioquinha (little cassava) in Brazil.
While trying to find this vegetable in the United States, I saw parsnips, which looked very similar to arracacha, so I decided to make my mom’s arracacha soup recipe, but using parsnips. The taste was a little bit different than my mom’s arracacha soup, and even though this is not the arracacha soup I was hoping to make, this Parsnip Soup was very good and deserves to be listed on the blog. I made a chunky and creamy version and while I personally prefer the creamy version, they were both really good.
If you live in the United States and found arracacha, I would love to know where you found it and under what name. You can leave a comment below.
Thanks and buen provecho!
Ingerdients:
1 cup of aliños sauce (see the recipe here)
1/2 pound of pork, diced
6 cups of vegetable stock
1 cup sliced carrots
1 pound parsnips (3 to 4 large parnisps), peeled and diced
1 teaspoon of cumin
Salt and pepper
Fresh cilantro
Directions
- In a pot place the aliños sauce, pork, vegetable stock, carrots, the parsnips, cumin and the salt and pepper, bring to a boil, and simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender and the pork is cooked.
- Add fresh cilantro and serve warm. If you prefer the creamy soup: Purée the soup in a blender and return to the pan. Add more water if necessary to thin the soup to the desired consistency.
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Paola says
Hi Erica,
You can find “arracacha” here in the U.S. It is called celery root. I live in South Florida so I can find it in Hispanic markets. Search it online and you’ll be surprised how common is here.
I hope it helps
Erica Dinho says
Thanks!
Edwin Meyer says
Apio criollo is very Hard to find. Occasionally the Sedanos on state rd 7 in Hollywood fl or the Sedanos on Southgate in Sunrise. Both Broward county. I have yet to find it in Miami dade. In Venexuela we do it either w /wout chicken broth usually puréed and serve it with cubed queso blanco. Enjoy ur website, Edwin
Anonymous says
Me encanta las recetas. Siempre las preparo
Alan Bowman says
Hi Erica
That photo of parsnips made my mouth water – we have extreme difficulty in getting them here in Spain. Their fragrance makes an interesting addition to a number of dishes, especially when complemented with nutmeg. Bout the only time we can find them is in English food shops near Christmas time (they are excellent roasted!)
Alan
Ibeth says
Érica,
Como estas? Me encantan tus recetas y tu página web. Me ha permitido recordar y recrear algunas de mis recetas favoritas.
También soy colombiana, de Valledupar pero desde hace 20 años vivo en los Estados Unidos y desde hace 13 años vivo en Denver, Colorado donde he sido lo suficientemente afortunada para encontrar arracacha congelada en un supermercado latino. La que he comprado la traen de Colombia.
El nombre del supermercado es Mi Pueblo, Latín Market . No siempre la encuentro pero cuando la tienen, compro dos o tres bolsas y las guardo.
Erica Dinho says
Gracias! 🙂
Arsenio says
I find it in the frozen latin anerican section at Seabra’s supermarkets here in NJ and Deerfield Beach FL.
Fabiola says
I finally found it… Goya sells it frozen and it’s called yellow cassava!,,
George says
We found frozen Arracacha packaged by Sunmba at our local Hispanic grocery in Palm Coast, FL just south of St
Augustine. Don’t know how to add a photo. Hope this helps!
Sonia says
you can find arracha in a Caribbean Supermarket and look for name Yams , best bet is in Caribbean supermarket as I have seen it there.or even Asian Markets under the name Yams . Good Luck and Hope you find it as I am sure I saw this there many times .
Sonia says
It is called also Yellow Cassava and can be found in Carribbean Markets or Latino Markets under Brand Name Goya and sometimes are Frozen
hope this helps you out
HUMBERTO PICARDI says
Just in case, updated comment for newcomers: frozen arracacha (apio criollo in Venezuela) is now widely availalble from La Fe, El Sembrador, El Latino and Goya (the last two I have not seen in stores). Fresh Arracacha (marked as Celery Root) is now fairly common at latin spermarkets in the Miami area (including further up north into Broward county). It’s expensive ($2.99 to $4.99 a pound) and of the variety that is very hard to peel without wasting about 30-40%.