Ajiaco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ajiaco is a traditional version of chicken soup from Colombia. Although several regions of Colombia have their distinct recipe the most famous is the Bogotano. It typically contains chicken, corn, at least two kinds of potatoes (one being papas criollas, a potato indigenous to Colombia), sour cream, capers, avocado, and guascas (Tridax parviflora), a weedy, aromatic herb common in all America that lends the dish part of its distinctive flavour.

In recent years, guascas have become easier to find in Latin American groceries in the US. Though purists may insist on using genuine guascas, gringos might substitute oregano in a pinch.

Let the traveler be advised: soups called ajiaco can be found in other regions of Latin America, though some share almost nothing with the traditional bogotano recipe apart from the name.

Ajiaco is also a Cuban recipe, a kind of stew. Cuban ethnologist Fernando Ortiz once defined the country as an ajiaco, alluding to the role that Spanish, African and Chinese cultures had in the definition of the national identity. For Cubans, ajiaco also means something that contains many ingredients.