Ajiaco Santafereño (Colombian Chicken & Three-Potato Soup)
Ajiaco is a hearty Bogotá-style soup of chicken, corn and three kinds of potatoes; the criolla potatoes partly break down to thicken the broth so each spoonful is a full meal. Serve with avocado, capers and a dollop of crema.
AI image1 hr 55 min
start to finish
25 min
hands on
Some skill
difficulty
6
servings
Ingredients
Contains dairy. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.
Roughly, per serving
650 kcal36g protein62g carbs28g fat
An estimate, not a lab analysis.
Method
Rinse the chicken pieces and place them in a large stockpot.
Add the water or chicken stock, quartered onion, crushed garlic and the bundled cilantro stems to the pot and sprinkle in 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper.
Bring the pot to a gentle boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer and skim any foam from the surface.
Skimming gives a clearer broth and removes impurities.
Simmer the chicken, uncovered, until cooked through and tender, about 45 minutes.
Use tongs to transfer the chicken to a bowl and let it cool until easy to handle, about 10 minutes.
While the chicken cools, strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a clean pot to remove the onion, garlic and cilantro stems and return the clear broth to a gentle simmer.
Add the russet potatoes (1-inch chunks) to the simmering broth and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the Yukon Gold potatoes to the pot and continue simmering for 10 minutes.
Add the criolla (small yellow) potatoes and the corn pieces to the pot and simmer until the criolla potatoes begin to break down and the soup thickens slightly, about 15 minutes.
The criolla potatoes are meant to partially disintegrate and make the broth creamy—don’t over-stir or they will fully dissolve.
Remove the chicken skin and bones, shred the meat with two forks, and discard the bones.
Return the shredded chicken to the pot, stir in the dried guasca, and simmer 5 minutes to meld flavors.
Taste and adjust seasoning with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and additional pepper if needed.
Ladle the soup into bowls and allow each diner to finish their portion with a spoonful of crema or heavy cream, a few capers, slices of avocado and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.
Offer the crema and capers on the side so each person can balance richness and saltiness to taste.
Serve hot, with cooked white rice on the side if you like.
Worth knowing
- If you can find dried guasca, use it—it's the characteristic flavor of ajiaco; otherwise use the listed substitute.
- For best texture, add the potatoes in stages as directed so the soup has chunks and creamy body at the same time.
- Leftovers keep well in the fridge for 2–3 days; the potatoes will absorb broth so loosen with a splash of hot stock when reheating.
Make it yours
Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.
Gluten-freeMeal prepKid friendly
More Colombian cooking
An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Colombian cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be gluten-free as listed.