Ajiaco Colombiano Recipes

COLOMBIAN AJIACO {POTATO AND CHICKEN SOUP}

Steps:

• Cook chicken and vegetables: Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add chicken, onions, and garlic and brown outside of chicken for 1-2 minutes each side.
• Cook soup: Add chicken stock, salt, pepper, cilantro, green onion, and guascas and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is cooked throughout, about 20 minutes.
• Add potatos + shred chicken: Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Add potatoes and corn and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. In the meantime, use a fork to shred chicken breasts.
• Simmer and season: Add shredded chicken back to soup along with the corn on the cob. Simmer on low another five minutes. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, or guascas if needed.
• Garnish and serve: Serve in a chamba soup bowl with white rice, sliced avocados, cream, and capers.

AJIACO COLOMBIANO (COLOMBIAN CHICKEN AND POTATO SOUP)

Steps:

• In a large pot, place the chicken, corn, chicken bouillon, cilantro, scallions, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for about 30 to 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked and tender. Remove the chicken and set aside.
• Continue cooking the corn for about 15 more minutes. Discard green onion and add red potatoes, white potatoes, and the guascas. Cook for 15 more minutes.
• Uncover and add the frozen papa criolla and simmer for 15 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
• Cut the chicken meat into small pieces and return to the pot. Serve the Ajiaco hot with capers and heavy cream on the side.

AJIACO (COLOMBIAN CHICKEN SOUP)

Steps:

• Put the chicken in a large (at least 8-quart) stockpot and add 8 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to a vigorous simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, frequently skimming off the foam that floats to the surface.
• Add all the vegetables, the garlic, the cilantro, and the bouillon cubes to the pot, along with the salt and pepper. Stir a few times to distribute the vegetables and submerge as many of the solids as possible. When the broth returns to a gentle boil, partially cover the pot and simmer, stirring once or twice, for 1-1/2 hours. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
• Using tongs or a slotted spoon, pick out the chicken pieces and put them on a large plate. Stir the soup with a large spoon, breaking up some of the potatoes to thicken the soup slightly. Keep hot if serving soon or let cool and refrigerate.
• When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones and shred it by hand. Discard the bones and tendons, and put the shredded chicken in a serving bowl.
• In a food processor, pulse all the aji ingredients until they're finely minced. Transfer to a serving bowl.
• Put the avocados, sour cream or creme fraiche, capers and cilantro leaves in small bowls and set them on the table along with the bowls of shredded chicken and the aji. Reheat the soup if necessay and ladle it into large soup bowls, putting a quater ear of corn in each bowl. Let your guests add the garnishes and the aji as they like.

AJIACO (COLOMBIAN CHICKEN, POTATO AND CORN SOUP)

Steps:

• In a 5-quart pot, combine the chicken, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 8 cups water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and skim any foam or impurities from the top. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, cilantro stems and scallion whites. Simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is tender and releases easily when pierced with a knife, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl to cool, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile make the aji sauce: In a food processor, combine the scallion greens, hot sauce, tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup of the cilantro leaves and pulse to a coarse sauce. Set aside. (Alternatively, the ingredients can be chopped by hand and stirred to combine.)
• Add the potatoes to the soup along with 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Cover, bring back to a simmer and simmer another 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove the chicken meat from the bones and shred with your hands or 2 forks (discard the bones and skin). Set aside.
• Add the corn to the soup and cook until the corn and potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken meat back to the soup and return the soup to a simmer. Add salt if needed.
• Divide the soup among 6 bowls and serve with sliced avocado, sour cream, capers, aji sauce and remaining cilantro leaves.

AJIACO

Steps:

• Put the chicken, corn cobs, garlic, onion, pepper, potatoes, spring onions and coriander in a pan with 2 litres water and bring to the boil, season well, then simmer for approximately 45 mins over a medium heat.
• Remove the corn and the chicken and transfer them to a plate. Blend the remaining ingredients in the pan with a hand blender until you get a creamy consistency.
• Add the papas criollas and the guascas to the pan and cook over a medium heat for around 10-12 mins, or until the papas criollas start to get soft but do not disintegrate.
• Meanwhile, shred the chicken breasts finely with your hands, and cut the corn cobs into thick slices. Put into separate small bowls.
• Put the cream, capers, avocado and extra chopped coriander in small bowls as well, so that everyone can help themselves to what they want. Pour the soup into four soup bowls and serve alongside the other ingredients. Don't forget napkins for eating the slices of corn.

AJIACO BOGOTANO (CHICKEN AND POTATO SOUP, BOGOTA STYLE)

Steps:

• In a large skillet, brown chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper) in oil then add to Dutch oven or pressure cooker.
• Put potatoes, yucca and corn in pot and season with salt and pepper and cayenne, if using; pour chicken stock into pot.
• Meanwhile, cook onions and garlic in skillet until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Pour in 1 cup water and loosen the bits stuck to the bottom; pour all into pot.
• Cover pot and cook over medium heat 40 minutes for Dutch oven and 30 minutes in pressure cooker (you will have to lower the heat to low once the pressure is built up in the pressure cooker).
• Once done, taste for seasoning, stir in cream, capers, and cilantro, if desired.
• Ladle into bowls and serve with an avocado on the side.