Ajiaco Bogotano (Bogotá Three-Potato Chicken Soup)

About This Recipe

Ajiaco is to Bogotá what pho is to Hanoi or chowder to Boston: a dish so specifically rooted in place that it tastes of the city's geography. The savanna of the Colombian capital sits at 2,640 metres, surrounded by cold, fertile fields that grow potatoes in dozens of native varieties unknown elsewhere. Ajiaco bogotano insists on three of them, each contributing a different texture to the soup. Papa criolla, a small yellow potato with a buttery flavour and high starch, dissolves almost completely into the broth and thickens it into a golden cream. Papa pastusa, a floury white potato, breaks down halfway, giving body. Papa sabanera (or red potato) is added last and stays whole, contributing chunks you can spear with a spoon. The chicken — usually a whole gallina, an older laying hen — is gently simmered with onion, garlic, scallion and corn cobs, then shredded. But the soul of the dish is guascas, a wild Andean herb (Galinsoga parviflora) that grows like a weed in the Bogotá savanna and has a peculiar fragrance somewhere between artichoke, hay and chamomile — it is sold dried in every Colombian grocery and has no real substitute. The soup is served with a small array of accompaniments that diners stir in to taste: a spoon of heavy cream, a scattering of capers, half an avocado, a few cubes of corn cob from the broth, and a sharp aji picante on the side. The combination — hot, creamy, herbal, faintly grassy, tangy from capers, cool from avocado — is utterly unmistakable and utterly comforting.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1.5 kgwhole chicken (or 6 large bone-in skin-on thighs), in pieces
• 2 lwater, plus 1 onion halved and 4 garlic cloves smashed
• 500 gpapa criolla (small yellow Andean potatoes)(frozen at Latin groceries; sub baby yellow potatoes)
• 500 grusset or floury white potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 cm thick
• 400 gred potatoes (Desiree or red-skinned), peeled and cubed
• 3corn cobs, cut into 4 cm rounds
• 20 gdried guascas leaves(essential; no substitute exists)
• 4scallions, white parts only, finely chopped
• 200 mlheavy cream, plus capers, sliced avocado, fresh coriander (to garnish)
• sea salt, white pepper, and aji picante (Colombian hot sauce) to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the broth

   Place chicken pieces in a large heavy pot with the water, halved onion, smashed garlic, scallions and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, skim the foam carefully, then reduce to a low simmer and cook 35 minutes until chicken is tender.

   Skimming gives a clear, clean broth — never skip it.

2. 2

   Shred the chicken

   Lift chicken pieces from the pot. Remove and discard skin and bones; shred meat with two forks into bite-sized pieces. Return bones to the broth and simmer another 15 minutes for deeper flavour, then strain broth back into a clean pot, discarding solids. Reserve the shredded chicken.

3. 3

   Cook the floury potatoes

   Bring broth back to a simmer. Add the floury white potato slices and the criolla potatoes and cook 20 minutes — they should break down significantly, with the criolla dissolving and thickening the broth into a pale gold cream.

4. 4

   Add corn and red potatoes

   Stir in the corn cob rounds and the red potato cubes. Simmer another 15 minutes until the red potatoes are tender but still hold shape, and the corn is sweet and easily detached from the cob.

   Tasting the soup at this stage tells you everything — adjust salt now.

5. 5

   Add guascas and chicken

   Stir in the dried guascas (crumbled between your palms) and the shredded chicken. Simmer 5 minutes only — guascas turns bitter if cooked too long. Taste, adjust salt and white pepper. The broth should be creamy, herbal, deeply chicken-flavoured.

6. 6

   Plate with accompaniments

   Ladle the soup into wide bowls, making sure each bowl gets shredded chicken, both kinds of intact potato cubes, and a couple of corn cob rounds. Set on the table small bowls of heavy cream, drained capers, sliced avocado, chopped coriander and aji picante so each diner customizes their bowl.

7. 7

   The Bogotá assembly

   Each diner stirs in 2 tbsp heavy cream, 1 tsp capers, lays avocado slices on top, and adds a dash of aji. The cream turns the soup ivory, the capers add salt-bursts, the avocado gives a cool buttery counterpoint, and the aji gives optional fire. Eat with fresh corn arepas if you can find them.

Variations

• •

  Ajiaco con costilla — add pork ribs along with the chicken for a richer, weekend version.

• •

  Vegetarian ajiaco — skip chicken, use vegetable stock, double the corn and add a parmesan rind to the broth for umami.

• •

  Quick weekday version — use rotisserie chicken and pre-made low-sodium chicken stock; cuts time to 45 minutes total.

• •

  Add white beans or a handful of cooked quinoa for extra body and protein in the final 5 minutes.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days; the soup thickens substantially — loosen with broth on reheating. Freezes well 3 months, though the potato texture softens. Always store cream and accompaniments separately and add fresh on serving.

Frequently Asked Questions