An Unusual Recipe from Colombia: Cow’s Eye Soup

Teach English as a Foreign Language Abroad

One of the benefits of teaching English as a foreign language abroad or living abroad in general, is the ability to prepare or at least try out some unusual recipes and foreign dishes you might never experience at home. Why else would one venture thousands of miles from home, brave storms, earthquakes, the elements and lord-only-knows-what else to teach English as a foreign language abroad? Okay, maybe for love (more than one English language teacher has married a foreign national or a stent), money or experience in one way or another. Nonetheless, you’ll still need to eat though, right?

Not in Colombia? How to Get Cow’s Eyes

First, truck your bunnies over to your local butcher and request from two to four cow’s eyes. I seriously doubt your supermarket ever carries them but a good butcher can get them for you if they are not readily available at a farmer’s market.

From these Colombian cooks can whip up a savory stew or soup dish for an unforgettable lunch.

Here’s a recipe on how you might go about it yourself:

Colombian Recipe for Cow’s Eye Soup

First, rinse the fresh cow’s eyes under running cold water

Then, place them in a pot or pressure cooker with lightly salted water

Next, add chopped onion, oregano and spices or your preferred spice bundle to taste as desired

After that, pressure cook for about 30 minutes or until the eyes are well softened

Finally, take out the cooked cow’s eyes when done

Colombia: Cow’s Eye Soup Stock Recipe

Add two or three diced yellow potatoes, two large white potatoes, one grated or chopped carrot and fined minced or grated arracacha to the cow’s eye liquid stock
Add in a coarsely diced Yucca as well, if available
Simmer the stock for about twenty more minutes or until vegetables are cooked and soft.

In a Separate Pan

In a separate pan, sautee together a small chopped onion, a whole scallion, 2 cloves of crushed garlic and a large chopped or grated tomato in a little oil until softened

Now dice the cooked cow’s eyes and add these to the sautéed mixture
Sautee for an additional few minutes until flavors are melded together
Everything should now be ready to serve

The final dish is often served with white rice, freshly made fruit juice and the enriched cow’s eye stock in a bowl on the side.

Teach English Vocabulary

Why a Colombian food recipe on this blog? Well, food and drink recipes are an excellent way to teach vocabulary in English as a foreign language. There are the action verbs, words used to express a sequence of events, and of course, vocabulary of food, seasoning and drink ingredients which may or may not be familiar to your English language learners – or you at first, for that matter. So, go ahead and pull out or request some favorite food or drink recipes from your co-workers, English as a foreign language learners, friends, neighbors or staff and get busy.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 135 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.

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