Colombian Vegetable and Potato Sudado (Braised Vegetable Bake)

About This Recipe

Sudado means "sweated" in Spanish, and it describes exactly how this dish is built: vegetables braised gently in a covered pot with a garlicky tomato-onion sofrito so their own moisture does most of the cooking. Colombian home kitchens make sudado with chicken or beef most often, but a vegetable version loaded with potato, squash, plantain and corn on the cob is a common Lenten and weeknight-vegetarian variation, especially in Andean households that keep a pot going for hours on low heat. The base is built from browned garlic and onion cooked until they turn golden and sweet, then a tomato puree with cumin and achiote (or paprika as a substitute) goes in to build color and depth. The vegetables go in largest and densest first so everything finishes together, and the pot stays mostly covered so steam does the work instead of hard boiling. Served over white rice with avocado slices and a squeeze of lime, this is comfort food from a highland kitchen, meant to feed a family from one pot without much fuss.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1white onion(diced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced and browned)
• 2tomatoes(pureed)
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspachiote powder(or sweet paprika)
• 4 cupsvegetable stock
• 3yellow potatoes(quartered)
• 1green plantain(cut into 2-inch chunks)
• 2 cupscalabaza squash(cubed)
• 2corn on the cob(cut into rounds)
• 2 tspsalt
• 0.25 cupcilantro(chopped)
• 1lime(cut into wedges)

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the sofrito

   Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Cook onion until soft, 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

2. 2

   Add tomato and spices

   Stir in pureed tomato, cumin and achiote. Cook 5 minutes until the mixture darkens and the raw tomato smell is gone.

3. 3

   Add stock and dense vegetables

   Pour in stock, then add potatoes, plantain and corn. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Add squash

   Stir in squash and salt. Cover and simmer another 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender and the broth has thickened slightly.

5. 5

   Finish and serve

   Taste and adjust salt. Ladle into bowls over rice, scatter cilantro on top, and serve with lime wedges.

Variations

• •

  Add shredded chicken thigh or beef flank in step 1 for the traditional meat sudado.

• •

  Swap squash for yuca (cassava) for a starchier, more filling version.

• •

  Finish with a spoon of hogao (tomato-onion relish) for extra richness.

Storage

Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days; the broth thickens further as it sits. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of stock to loosen it.

Frequently Asked Questions