Ajiaco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ajiaco is a version of chicken soup from Colombia. Although several regions of Colombia have their distinct recipe the most famous is ajiaco santafereño, named after Santa Fé de Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, where it is a cultural mainstay. It typically contains pieces of chicken on the bone, large chunks of corn on the cob, two or three kinds of native potatoes (the tiny papas criollas that fall apart and thicken the soup, usually accompanied by chunks of the waxy sabanera and/or the soft pastusa), and guasca (Galinsoga parviflora), a weedy, aromatic herb common in all America that lends the dish part of its distinctive flavour.

The soup is typically served with heavy cream, capers and avocado, all mixed in just before eating in the proportions each individual prefers. Ajiaco is so heavy that, served with a side of white rice, it is usually considered a full meal. In the highly regional Colombian cuisine, is the dish most representative of Bogotá.

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

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. The name is likely derivative of the word ají, a Taíno word for "hot pepper" which has become generalized in South American Spanish (equivalent to chile in Mexican Spanish). Though the modern Colombian ajiaco contains no ají, it is probably derived from spicier indigenous dishes.

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.

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