About this Dish
Bogota's great soup — three varieties of potato cooked in chicken broth with guascas herb until thick and starchy, served with cream, capers and avocado. The guascas herb — a dried wildflower — is entirely unique to Colombian cooking and gives ajiaco its irreplaceable flavour. Without guascas, the dish is potato soup. With it, it is ajiaco.
IngredientsServes 6
🍗Chicken thighs, 4 bone-in, skin-on
🥔Papa criolla (small yellow waxy potatoes), 300g halved
🥔Papa pastusa or Yukon Gold potatoes, 300g peeled and chunked
🥔Papa R12 or russet potatoes, 300g peeled and chunked
🌿Guascas (dried herb), 3 tablespoons
🧅Spring onions, 4 stalks whole
🧄Garlic cloves, 3 whole
🥛Heavy cream, to serve
🫙Capers, 2 tablespoons, to serve
🥑Ripe avocado, 1 sliced, to serve
Method
1
Place the chicken thighs in a large pot with 2.5 litres of cold water, the whole spring onions, and garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam that rises, then reduce to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.2
Remove the chicken thighs and set aside to cool slightly. Discard the spring onions and garlic. Pull the chicken meat off the bones into large shreds and set aside — return the bones to the broth and simmer for another 10 minutes, then remove and discard.3
Add the russet and papa pastusa (or Yukon Gold) potatoes to the broth first, as they take longest. Simmer for 20 minutes — the russet pieces will begin to break down and dissolve into the broth, which is exactly what you want, giving it that thick, starchy body.4
Add the papa criolla halves and the guascas herb to the pot. Stir well and simmer for another 15–20 minutes until the papa criolla is tender but still holds its shape and the broth is thick and fragrant.5
Return the shredded chicken to the pot, stir, and taste for salt. The soup should be hearty, thick, and deeply aromatic from the guascas — add a little more guascas if the flavour needs lifting.6
Ladle the ajiaco into deep bowls and serve immediately, with a swirl of heavy cream, a spoonful of capers, and sliced avocado laid on top — each person stirs these in at the table to their liking.User Reviews
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