Machu Picchu Luxury Travel

Nabos Jaucha: Wild Turnip Greens, Chard, Potatoes and Choclo at a Sacred Valley Table

By Florian Rolke. Sources checked October 21, 2026.

An illustrated serving concept for an Andean hotel table.

Nabos jaucha is described on Chuncho's published menu as a hot salad with wild turnip leaves, chard, small potatoes and choclo. The leaves distinguish it from a turnip-root dish. The menu does not identify the wild plant botanically or describe the final consistency, so ask how the greens, potatoes and corn are prepared. For a home adaptation, use identified food-grade cultivated greens.

Chuncho in Ollantaytambo lists nabo jaucha, also written nabos jaucha, on its published Spanish-language menu captured online on October 21, 2026. The description names wild turnip leaves, chard, small potatoes and choclo. The important distinction is leaves rather than turnip roots. The menu calls it a hot salad but does not describe the precise cooking method, seasoning or final texture, so those are useful questions when ordering.

What the Menu Name Actually Means

The Spanish menu at Chuncho lists the dish both as nabo jaucha and nabos jaucha, and the components are given as wild turnip leaves, chard, small potatoes and choclo. Nabo is Spanish for turnip, so a Spanish-speaking reader might expect a root vegetable dish. Here the menu is specific about leaves, which places the dish in the Andean tradition of cooking leafy greens as a warm preparation rather than using the turnip root at all.

Both nabo jaucha and nabos jaucha appear in the same menu. The component list is the useful anchor: wild turnip leaves, chard, small potatoes and choclo. The document does not explain the spelling variation or define jaucha, so neither point needs an invented translation to help you decide whether to order the dish.

chuncho.pe

The ingredient and its prepared form, shown as an illustration.

Leaves, Not Roots: The Key Distinction

Turnip greens are the leafy tops of the turnip plant, and cooks with experience with them describe their flavor as close to mustard greens, with somewhat less of the sharp mustard bite. They are related botanically to mustard greens, which explains the family resemblance. The leaves can be cooked and served as a vegetable in their own right, in soups or as a standalone green, and larger leaves tend to be tougher than small young ones, which points toward a cooked rather than raw preparation here.

Cultivated turnip greens are one option for a home interpretation, and community cooks describe their flavor as related to mustard greens. Choose tender food-grade leaves and cook them to the texture you enjoy. That experience does not identify Chuncho's wild ingredient or establish how its finished dish tastes. The restaurant names turnip leaves and chard, so ask about their balance and preparation rather than expecting an exact level of bitterness or pepperiness.

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Why Two Greens Instead of One

The menu combines turnip leaves and chard, giving the dish two leafy components alongside potatoes and corn. In a home version made with identified cultivated greens, chard can provide a mild base while turnip greens add a stronger flavor; adjust their proportions to taste. For Chuncho's plate, ask how the greens are cooked and combined rather than expecting a particular balance from the short description alone.

For home cooks inspired by the combination, the same logic applies: use chard as the volume green and turnip greens as the flavor accent, adjusting the ratio to taste. Community cooking experience suggests mixed greens can be cooked more quickly than the very long boil traditional in some Southern United States preparations, leaving a pleasant texture, or cooked longer for softness, depending on preference. The menu does not state which style Chuncho uses.

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Small Potatoes and Choclo: The Starch Anchors

The menu specifies small potatoes and choclo. In a home version, similarly sized potato pieces are easier to check for doneness together, while the potato variety and the cooking determine whether they stay intact or break down. Choose a potato suited to the texture you want, cook until the center is tender and prepare the corn according to its own needs. The menu does not identify the potato variety or how either starch is served.

Choclo, Peruvian large-kernel corn, contributes a distinctly starchy, meaty chew that contrasts with the soft greens. Between the corn and the potatoes, the dish has two substantial carbohydrates, which is what turns a plate of greens into a meal. Whether the potatoes arrive steamed, boiled or cooked in liquid with the greens is not stated on the menu, and each method gives a slightly different result in texture and how seasoning adheres.

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Warm Greens: Boiling, Steaming and Texture Choices

The menu describes a hot preparation but does not specify the cooking method, and the phrase used does not by itself prove steaming, boiling or the absence of sauteing. For greens and potatoes alike, the two standard moist methods are boiling, where the food sits in water, and steaming, where it sits above the water in a basket or strainer. Both cook without frying. Greens in a mixed dish are often blanched or simmered briefly, while potatoes need longer, so a kitchen cooking them together usually staggers the timing.

If you are adapting the idea at home, a practical approach is to cook the potatoes and choclo until tender, cook the greens separately just until they reach the texture you like, then combine and season the food directly. Overcooking greens far past tenderness dulls their color and softens them completely; pulling them at the texture you enjoy keeps brightness and bite. Checking the thickest potato pieces before draining the whole batch is the reliable way to judge doneness.

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A second illustrated serving idea with the same ingredients.

Seasoning Without a Fried Base

The menu does not say whether the dish includes a fried onion or garlic base, oil quantity or any added sweetener, and the wording alone cannot confirm or rule those out. For a home version that stays savory and simple, you can season the cooked components directly with salt, herbs, lemon or spices rather than building flavor through frying. Community cooks suggest lining a steamer basket with sliced garlic so its aroma reaches the vegetables, then tossing the garlic in with the finished potatoes.

Salt behaves differently depending on method. Salt in boiling water can season vegetables cooking in it, but salt in the water below a steamer does little for the food above, because it does not travel with the steam. With steaming, plan to season the food itself. A fresh herb or citrus finish after cooking is another way to add aroma without changing the cooking method.

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Fresh Herbs and Finishings

If you add herbs to a dish like this, fresh and dried are not interchangeable by volume. Drying concentrates and changes herb aroma, and community cooking experience suggests starting with roughly a third as much dried as fresh and adjusting, while recognizing that some herbs hold their dried character far better than others. Sturdy herbs such as oregano or thyme can join early in cooking; delicate leafy herbs lose their aroma quickly and are better added near serving.

Handling matters too. Rinse herbs under running water before use, dry them with a clean towel, and refrigerate any you are storing rather than leaving them wet or crushed. The same washing discipline applies to greens and potatoes: rinse produce under running water before preparing or eating, including items you will peel, since surface dirt transfers during cutting. These are ordinary kitchen practices, not special treatment this dish requires.

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A Simple Protein Companion

As an editorial serving idea rather than anything the Chuncho menu offers, this leaf, potato and corn combination would sit well beside a simply cooked protein. High-altitude Andean trout, prepared without a fried coating, is a natural regional pairing, and a plainly roasted duck or alpaca would also match the sturdy, savory character of the plate. This is a meal suggestion from the composition itself, not a documented combination at any restaurant.

Keep the distinction clear when reading about dishes like this: the documented fact is Chuncho's menu entry with its four named components. Everything about cooking methods at the restaurant, substitutions or pairings beyond that entry is either an open question to ask or an editorial idea to adapt at home. The restaurant's own current menu, availability and preparation details should be confirmed directly with Chuncho.

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Adapting the Dish at Home, Sensibly

A home adaptation is straightforward: use food-grade cultivated turnip greens and chard from a grocer, cook small potatoes and choclo until tender, cook the greens to your preferred texture, and season the finished components. What you should not take from the menu is any instruction to forage wild greens. The menu names wild turnip leaves, but it does not establish a botanical species, a harvesting location or a safe identification, and no foraging guidance follows from a restaurant menu.

Likewise, no quantities, times or fixed high-altitude adjustments are offered here, because none are documented for this dish. Judge tenderness by checking the food itself, especially the thickest pieces, and season to taste. The value of nabos jaucha for a visitor is as a named example of Andean greens cooking: it shows how leaves, a second green and two native starches become one warm plate, and it gives you precise questions to ask wherever you eat in the Sacred Valley.

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Questions about the ingredient and the meal

These questions come from published reader discussions and food-publisher FAQs. Some concern the featured ingredient; others concern the grains, vegetables or meat served with it.

Uses for radish and turnip greens?

Turnip leaves can be cooked as a green vegetable instead of being discarded with the roots. Experienced cooks describe their flavor as close to mustard greens with a bit less sharpness, suitable as a standalone dish, in soups or mixed with other greens; they are usually too tough and assertive for raw salads. Radish greens are more peppery and can add bite when mixed in. Chuncho's documented nabos jaucha combines turnip leaves with chard, small potatoes and choclo, which is one concrete restaurant use.

Question by Daniel Bingham on Seasoned Advice / Stack Exchange · Seasoned Advice cooking discussion · chuncho.pe · Cooking with Leafy Greens | University of Maryland Extension

Excess oil when boiling vegetables even though no added oil

An oily-looking surface on boiling vegetables does not by itself prove that cooking oil was added. One community explanation is that plants carry a protective surface wax that can clump into a skin on the water, though that identification is only a guess and not a verified diagnosis. If avoiding added oil matters to you, ask how a dish was prepared rather than judging from the surface. Do not assume an unexplained slick is harmless, and do not assume it means oil either.

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Seasoning steamed vegetables (in particular potatoes): advisable?

Yes, season the potatoes themselves rather than the steaming water. Salt in the water below a steamer basket does not travel up with the steam, so it will not season the food above. Practical options include tossing the steamed potatoes with salt, herbs, spices, vinegar or lemon juice after cooking, or placing aromatics such as sliced garlic or citrus peel in the basket alongside them while they cook. No fried finishing step is needed for a flavorful result.

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Are high-starch potatoes hard (low-starch soft)?

Raw firmness is a poor guide to cooked texture. A potato's hardness relates mostly to maturity and storage time, and the cooked quality you want matters more: buy potatoes suited to holding their shape if you need intact pieces, or mealy ones if you want fluffiness or mash. The traditional language of hard-boiling versus soft-boiling potatoes describes the cooked result, not the raw feel. Do not assume every native Andean potato behaves the same way, since varieties differ widely.

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How do I stop potatoes falling apart in a long-cook?

Choose a potato type suited to holding its shape, and avoid prolonged hard boiling after the centers are tender. If potatoes must join a long-cooked dish, add or cook them on a separate schedule so they are not overcooked by the time everything else is done. One community method involves cutting heat early during parboiling and letting potatoes cool in the water, but treat that as an unverified home technique rather than validated safety advice, and judge doneness by checking the pieces themselves.

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How to wash dirty herbs in bulk

For home handling, separate the leaves, rinse them under running water to remove visible dirt, and drain or dry them with a clean towel before chopping. Do not use soap or detergent on produce. Commercial operations described in one community answer use air-agitated water baths and unheated spin dryers, but that is industrial equipment, not a home method. Rinse before peeling or cutting even items you will peel, since surface dirt transfers during cutting.

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How to measure out fresh herbs when the recipe calls for 'a tablespoon of chopped herb'?

Measure the herb after chopping, since a tablespoon refers to the prepared herb rather than a count of sprigs. If repeatability matters, weigh one tablespoon of your own chopped herb and note the result for that herb and cut. This is a practical calibration you can make, not a universal conversion supplied by the discussion.

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Do fresh herbs have properties that dried herbs do not?

From a cooking standpoint, yes: drying changes the aroma compounds and concentrates the leaf, so fresh and dried herbs taste different and are not interchangeable by volume. Community experience suggests roughly two to three times as much fresh as dried for comparable flavor, with sturdy herbs like oregano and sage holding up better dried than delicate ones like basil or cilantro. Keep this a flavor distinction; the vitamin discussion in community answers is not health evidence.

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Herbs in Dressing - Fresh vs Dried

Fresh and dried herbs give different results in a dressing. Dried herbs are more concentrated, so start with less, roughly one part dried to three parts fresh as a rule of thumb, and let them hydrate before adjusting. Mild fresh herbs such as basil or parsley are best added near serving, while strong ones like oregano or thyme can infuse earlier. There is no exact universal substitution ratio for every herb species, so taste as you go.

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Should you add specific garden-fresh herbs to a stew at the beginning or the end?

It depends on the herb. Robust herbs such as thyme, rosemary and oregano withstand long cooking and can go in early to infuse the dish, then be removed before serving if you prefer. Delicate leafy herbs like basil lose their aroma with extended cooking and are better added raw near the end or at serving. Match the timing to the actual herb you are using rather than applying one fixed rule to every green.

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How to Store Fresh Herbs

Refrigerate perishable fresh herbs and avoid leaving the leaves wet or crushed. A paper towel in a bag can help manage surface moisture, but it does not guarantee shelf life. Wash the herbs under running water shortly before using them, and dry them with a clean towel. FDA guidance recommends keeping perishable produce at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

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How do you steam vegetables?

Place the vegetables in a heat-safe steamer basket or metal strainer above, not in, simmering water; use enough water that it does not touch the food, cover with a lid, and cook to the tenderness you want. Keep an eye on the water level so the pot does not boil dry, and lift or uncover the basket carefully to avoid escaping steam. This works for potatoes, choclo and sturdy greens alike.

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Difference between boiling and steaming vegetables?

Boiling immerses the vegetable directly in the water; steaming holds it above the water so it cooks in the vapor. Both are moist methods that cook without frying, and each gives a slightly different texture. A practical seasoning difference follows: salt in boiling water can season the vegetables cooking in it, but salt in steaming water does not reach the food, so steamed vegetables need seasoning applied directly afterward.

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Cooking time for steaming vegetables "Al Dente'?

There is no single al dente time, because the desired bite depends on the vegetable, the piece size and your preference. Start checking the thickest pieces before the whole batch softens, and split or stagger ingredients that cook at different rates, since greens, small potatoes and corn kernels will not finish together. Do not transfer times published for peas or broccoli to an unfamiliar ingredient; treat reference timings as starting points and judge by checking the food.

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Imparting flavor to steamed vegetables

Put the flavor on the vegetables themselves rather than relying on the water. You can place aromatic slices, such as garlic or citrus peel, in the steamer basket alongside or beneath the food, or finish the steamed vegetables afterward with fresh herbs, lemon juice, vinegar or spices. Flavoring the water alone does not guarantee the taste reaches the food, since dissolving into water and penetrating the vegetable are different things. This keeps the plate savory without any fried base.

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Is it possible to preserve color in steamed vegetables?

For a brighter result, avoid cooking greens far beyond the tenderness you intend; overcooking is the usual cause of dull color. Cook promptly, finish promptly, and judge by texture rather than color alone, since color is not proof of doneness or nutritional value. Steaming or a brief boil both work when not overdone. One community answer also advises against adding acid while cooking green vegetables, which can dull their color, so add lemon or vinegar at the table instead.

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What do you use to get the vegetables out after steaming?

Use heat-safe tools: tongs, a large fork or slotted spoon, or lift the steamer basket itself by its handles, keeping hands clear of the steam that escapes when the lid comes off. Match the tool to the food, since soft items like cooked greens or tender hearts crush easily under heavy tongs, while potatoes and corn tolerate a firm grip. A strainer insert that lifts out whole is often the gentlest option for mixed vegetables.

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Steaming vegetables in microwave

Microwave steaming is a valid alternative: use microwave-safe cookware, add a small amount of water, cover with a vented microwave-safe lid, and check the thickest pieces for doneness rather than trusting a fixed time. One community answer gives specific minute counts on an 1800W machine, but wattage varies between appliances, so those times do not transfer reliably. Start conservatively, check, and continue in short intervals until the vegetables reach the texture you want.

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Should I add salt when boiling vegetable? Why?

It is optional and a matter of taste and dietary needs. Salt in the boiling water can season vegetables cooked in that water, which is the main practical reason to add it. It does not damage the vegetables in normal cooking amounts, and the simplified osmosis explanation offered in some community answers should not be taken as settled science. For steaming, skip salting the water and season the food itself afterward instead.

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What is the difference between boiled vegetables and stewed vegetables?

The distinction is mainly what happens to the liquid. Boiled vegetables are drained and served separately, with the cooking water discarded or saved for another use. A stew keeps its seasoned cooking liquid as part of the finished dish, served together with the vegetables in a bowl. For a warm leaf, potato and corn plate like nabos jaucha, this is a real presentation question: ask or decide whether a little savory liquid is part of the dish or whether it arrives drained.

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Leave time for the Sacred Valley

Warm leaves, potatoes and choclo make nabo jaucha a dish to give its own attention at the table. If you are extending your Sacred Valley stay around Machu Picchu, consider The SoulSearching Experience: five full days with Florian Rolke, in a group of 8–15 participants. Discuss dining arrangements separately.

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Sources and reading notes

The menu and ingredient sources support the distinctions described above. The serving illustrations are concepts. Restaurant menus can change; confirm the dish and preparation directly when booking.