Trujillo Wheat and Pork Soup (Shambar)
A thick, deeply savoury soup of whole wheat berries and fava beans simmered for hours with pork until everything turns soft and the broth goes rich and golden. Finished with mint and fresh herbs, it is the Monday dish of Trujillo, in northern Peru.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Soak the night before
The night before cooking, put the wheat berries in one bowl and the fava beans in another, cover each with plenty of cold water, and leave at room temperature overnight. This softens both so they cook evenly instead of staying hard in the finished soup.
- 250 g wheat berries
- 150 g dried fava beans
✅ Done when: the wheat and beans have swelled and feel soft when pressed between your fingers
Build the base
Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft and golden. Stir in the paste, cumin and achiote and cook for 2 minutes more, so the chile paste loses its raw edge and the fat turns a deep red.
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 red onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground achiote
✅ Done when: the onion is soft, the paste smells toasted and the oil has taken on a red colour
Brown the pork
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Simmer the wheat and beans
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Add the potatoes
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Finish and serve
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Soak the night before
The night before cooking, put the wheat berries in one bowl and the fava beans in another, cover each with plenty of cold water, and leave at room temperature overnight. This softens both so they cook evenly instead of staying hard in the finished soup.
- 250 g wheat berries
- 150 g dried fava beans
✅ Done when: the wheat and beans have swelled and feel soft when pressed between your fingers
Build the base
Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft and golden. Stir in the paste, cumin and achiote and cook for 2 minutes more, so the chile paste loses its raw edge and the fat turns a deep red.
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 red onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp paste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground achiote
✅ Done when: the onion is soft, the paste smells toasted and the oil has taken on a red colour
Brown the pork
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Simmer the wheat and beans
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Add the potatoes
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Finish and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Shambar grew out of Trujillo's working-class neighbourhoods, where it became known as the dish eaten only on Mondays, cooked by street vendors who simmered big pots overnight so it would be ready for breakfast. The wheat reflects Spanish colonial farming in the region, while the fava beans, chiles and herbs are rooted in older Andean and coastal cooking, so the soup sits at the meeting point of both traditions.
Families would often use the pork bones and leftovers from Sunday's meal to start the pot, which is one reason the dish became tied so firmly to the first day of the week.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is thick enough to eat with a spoon standing straight up, deeply savoury from hours of simmering with pork, and so identified with Mondays that many Trujillo restaurants only put it on the menu that one day.
💡 Fun Fact
In Trujillo, some cooks who specialise in shambar are known as shambareras, and locals plan their Monday mornings around which stall or restaurant is serving it that week.
Trujillo, La Libertad region, northern Peru
-8.11°S, -79.03°W
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