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Ajiaco – A Colombian Chicken Soup

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Ajiaco, A Colombian Chicken Soup - The Nourishing Gourmet

By Natalia Gill, from An Appetite For Joy

Chicken, fresh summer corn and buttery potatoes are simmered in a rich broth and heightened with capers and crème fraîche. Somewhere in between a soup and a stew, ajiaco lingers in your mind long after you’ve finished your last spoonful.

Here is a little background on how I came to know and love ajiaco.

My younger brother found himself an amazing girl who is Colombian-American and when our families come together it is a revelry of art, music and some great food. My brother jams on the piano (and now my 8-yr old son is also playing away!), we get to glimpse Maria’s most recent artwork (she is an artist and art/spanish teacher), and the kitchen island is packed with all sorts of delicious food – from borsch to empanadas.

One night, Maria’s mom Ana made a huge pot of ajiaco to feed a crowd. I was looking over her shoulder, intrigued by the corn simmering in the soup, infusing it with a perfect touch of sweetness. She served it over small mounds of white rice, then (swoon) topped with cream and capers. I was hooked!

Ajiaco, A Colombian Chicken Soup - The Nourishing Gourmet

In between bowls (I stopped counting at four) I jotted down the ingredients and approximate cooking steps.

Since that night, I’ve experimented with it several times at home. A lot of the flavor comes from the broth. A frugal and flavorful chicken stock works well. This time I used a rich and gelatinous broth with drumsticks.

I hope you love Ana’s take on ajiaco as much as my family does!

HARD-TO-FIND INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

If you don’t have a Latin market nearby, a couple of the ingredients can be substituted.

1) Papa criolla potatoes. Traditionally, ajiaco is made with three varieties of potatoes including papa criolla which is a starchy yellow potato. Ana had some that she had purchased in the frozen section of a Colombian market (I didn’t know fresh potatoes freeze well, but they do!) She told me that yukon gold is a good substitution.

2) Guascas. Guascas is a weed native to South America that imparts an earthy, grassy flavor to the soup, balancing out the sweet corn and starchy potatoes. Oregano is the best substitute.

If you enjoy soups, check out Kimi’s cookbook, Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons. 

MORE NOURISHING SOUPS TO TRY

Hearty Mushroom Soup (Grain-Free, Vegan)

Egyptian Red Lentil Soup with Caramelized Onions

Miso Noodle Soup with Greens and Pork Ribs (Grain Free)

Knefla – A Savory German Stew

 

Ajiaco
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Columbian
Serves: Serves 6-8
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This Colombian chicken soup uses simple ingredients that are heightened with crème fraîche and capers for an unforgettable meal.
Ingredients
  • 2 chicken breasts (with bone and skin, preferably)
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, minced, seeds and stems removed if it's a spicy one (optional if you want a kick!)
  • 6 cups chicken broth or stock
  • 1.5 pounds of yukon gold or other starchy potatoes (4-6 medium), diced
  • 2 tablespoons dried guascas (or substitute dried oregano)
  • 3 ears of corn, cut into 2-inch segments
  • 1 ear of corn, kernels
  • 1 teaspoon unrefined salt (unless your broth is salty) plus more to taste
  • 2 cups white rice, for serving
  • Capers, avocado slices and crème fraîche (or alternatively, heavy cream or Mexican Crema), for serving
Instructions
  1. In a large, heavy-bottom soup pot, heat a little olive oil (or your favorite cooking fat) over medium-high heat and sear the chicken, cooking a couple of minutes on both sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
  2. In the same pot, sauté the tomatoes and onions 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot and add the broth. Bring to a simmer.
  3. Once the soup has been simmering for about 15 minutes, add the potatoes, guascas, corn (ear segments and kernels) and salt.
  4. Simmer til the chicken, potatoes and corn are done (about 20 additional minutes). Taste and adjust seasonings. You may need to add salt, as soups with potatoes often require a good amount.
  5. Serve with capers and crème fraîche.

Simple

Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Bean Soup)

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By April Swiger, Contributing Writer

Rich nourishing bone broth with frugal beans and pasta make Pasta e Fagioli  perfect for a large family dinner on a cold night.

(Kimi – This recipe is a perfect example of how simple and delicious it is to get beautiful, nourishing, health-building broth into your family, which is why we wanted to share it along with my post, 10 reasons homemade broth should be part of your diet!  Read the introduction to our series, 21 steps to a nourishing diet, and find out what a nourishing diet can and cannot do for you here. )

This recipe can be easily adapted for gluten-free and vegetarian diets by using vegetable broth instead of chicken, and eliminating the pasta completely or using a gluten-free brand of macaroni instead. Kimi recommends this brand. (Amazon links are affiliate)

Pasta e Fagioli is traditionally a peasant dish, as the ingredients are incredibly frugal. This particular recipe is one that my Italian family has been using for multiple generations. Even today when I walk into my 93 year old grandfather’s kitchen, this soup, bubbling away in his big aluminum pot, always comes to my mind.

My mother lovingly served our family this soup all throughout my childhood. “Bean Soup” nights were always my favorite! It wasn’t until after I graduated from college, and moved overseas for a year, that I finally learned to make it myself. I was living in China, and missing the traditional Italian food that was so easily accessible in the states. That was the year that I learned how to cook for myself from scratch, continuing the tradition of passing this recipe down the family line.

This soup is easily adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand. My grandfather, and mother, would frequently use a scoop of marinara sauce, instead of diced tomatoes. If you make this during the summer, fresh diced tomatoes, and herbs from the garden would work great as well. I like my pasta e fagioli heavy on the garlic, and with a nice kick from the crushed red pepper. You can adapt this to your family’s taste quickly and easily.

To keep this soup as frugal as possible, it’s best to use dried cannellini (or white kidney) beans. By soaking the beans overnight to remove irritating phytic acid, cooking them, and adding them to the rest of the ingredients, you’ve saved quite a bit of money! If you’re in a pinch, and need a fast meal, canned beans work great too. I often use Eden Organic’s canned cannellini beans, because the beans have been soaked and cooked with kombu seaweed, and their cans are BPA-free. They are a little pricy, but are a very good option if you are not able to use dried beans.

This soup is always better the next day, after the flavors have melded together overnight. If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, enjoy a bowl for a wonderfully nourishing lunch!

Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Bean Soup)
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 6-8
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This nourishing soup will warm your family up on cold winter nights! The recipe can be easily adapted to your taste buds or dietary needs.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 5-6 Cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 3 15oz Cans of cannellini beans (I like Eden Organic's BPA-free canned beans), or 1½ cups of dried cannellini beans that have been soaked overnight, and cooked (about 5 cups cooked)
  • 7 Cups of chicken broth (vegetable broth to make it vegetarian)
  • 1 Cup chopped tomatoes (I love Pomi chopped tomatoes in a BPA-free carton)
  • ½ teaspoon Dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon. Dried oregano
  • ⅛-1/2 teaspoon. Crushed red pepper flakes, depending on how much "kick" you like
  • 1lb Ditalini pasta, or other short cut pasta like elbow macaroni or tubetti (a gluten-free pasta can be easily substituted as well)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • OPTIONAL: Parmesan cheese and chopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
  1. In a large pot heat the olive oil, and sauté the minced garlic for a minute or two. Be sure that it doesn't brown.
  2. Add your beans (previously cooked, or canned with liquid), broth, tomatoes, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.
  3. Allow the soup to simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Shortly before the soup is done, boil salted water for the pasta, and cook it al dente according to the package.
  5. When serving, spoon ¼-1/2 cup of the pasta into bowls, and ladle soup on top. I prefer not to store any leftover pasta in the leftover soup as it typically soaks up a lot of the broth and becomes soggy.
  6. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese or freshly chopped parsley on top.

Other soups you may enjoy:

Cold Mixed Berry Fruit Soup (Gluten, Grain, Dairy, and Sugar-Free)

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FruitSoup1

Nothing says summer like juicy, sweet berries. At the peak of the season, these tasty morsels are bursting with flavor, as well as all sorts of nutrients for the body. This cold mixed berry fruit soup is full of summer flavor and is the perfect end to an evening meal. This dessert won’t leave you feeling overly full and weighed down — it is light and refreshing. The lime juice adds a kick of brightness to your palette, while the balsamic adds a rich depth of flavor. Both acids work well to enhance the flavor of the fresh fruit.

Berries are one of my favorite foods. I don’t eat a lot of fruit, but when it comes to berries, I’m a fanatic. Especially blackberries. Those are my favorite and for good reason. Not only are they a tasty way to soothe my sweet tooth, but berries in general are low glycemic and full of fiber. Strawberries are a rich source of vitamin C, as are raspberries and blackberries. My mother always told me to eat for color. The richer the color of the fruit or vegetable, the more nutrition was in it. The rich reds, blues, and purples of berries means they are full of phytonutrients and antioxidants. All berries are good sources of minerals too, provided they were grown in healthy, living, mineral-rich soil.

Other recipes on The Nourishing Gourmet that include these amazing berries include the following: Summer Berry Ice Cream Pie, Strawberry Fool, Black Cod Salad with Blackberry Dressing, Blackberry Cream Gelatin, Strawberry Kefir Popsicles, Honey-Sweetened Raspberry Sauce.

FruitSoup5

For this recipe, any combination of berries could be used, depending on what is in season and available to you locally. This is a combination that I like, but I encourage you to experiment and come up with your own family favorite! Frozen fruit will also work, though it is a little thinner of a consistency than if you use fresh berries. Depending on the sweetness of your berries, you may not need any additional sweetener, but a little stevia or honey work nicely. Maple syrup even works well and adds a hint of additional flavor to the soup. You don’t have to, but it is simply divine topped with whipped cream, crème fraîche, yogurt, ice cream – you name it. If you’re dairy-free like me, Kimi’s whipped coconut cream is an amazing topper for this soup.

FruitSoup2

Cold Mixed Berry Fruit Soup (Gluten, Grain, Dairy, and Sugar-Free)
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 4
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Juicy, flavorful berries make this delicious cold soup a tasty, refreshing summertime dessert.
Ingredients
  • 5 ounces fresh organic strawberries
  • 5 ounces fresh organic blueberries
  • 5 ounces fresh organic raspberries
  • 5 ounces fresh organic blackberries
  • ¼ cup, plus 2 tbsp. fresh squeezed organic lime juice
  • 1 - 2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
  • ½ - 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
  • Honey or stevia to taste (optional)
Instructions
  1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth.
  2. Pour the mixture through a strainer to catch all the seeds and pulp.
  3. Chill the soup in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before serving.
  4. Serve with a dollop of yogurt, crème fraîche, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, etc., and a few sprigs of mint.

Hi! My name is Jessica and I am a real food nut, avid reader and researcher, blossoming yogi, and animal lover. I have had a life-long passion for food and being in the kitchen is where I am the happiest and most comfortable. I began helping my mother cook and bake around the age of three and I’ve been in the kitchen ever since. I ended up working in a restaurant in my hometown for almost a decade, working in every position there and finally becoming the lead chef. My main mission in life is to provide real food recipes that are simple, yet delicious, as well as show how eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. I love to show people how making even small changes in their diet and food selections can make a huge difference in their lives. Along the way, I’ll share stories of my own real food and health journeys, as well as ideas for how to live a healthier, more natural life. I’d love it if you’d stop by and visit me at my blog, Delicious Obsessions.