When Dani and I first started dating (man, almost 8 years ago), we were young enough that our parents had to meet before things got too serious. I remember putting on my best shirt at the time, printing out the directions to her house from Mapquest, and rushing my mom into the car so that we’d get there in time for lunch. We arrived to find a spread of Ajiaco (a Colombian chicken and potato soup) and a few other Colombian foods I had never tried before. It goes without saying, but we still joke about it–that soup definitely kept me around!

I won’t call this soup Ajiaco, but it definitely started to move in that direction once I got started. I made a rue with butter and flour to mimic the texture without using actual potatoes, and added Guascas, the dried herb that gives Ajiaco it’s signature flavor. Once I added some stock, chicken, corn, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers, and it all came together really easily. I let it simmer for about an hour so that it would thicken, added some parsley, and, well, just look at that…

Once it’s done, serve it with rice, avocado, table cream, lime and extra capers.

Let’s cook.

You’ll need:

2 Chicken Breasts

1 Large Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed

1 Onion, diced

4 Cloves of garlic, minced

1 Bell Pepper, diced

1 Cup Dried Tomatoes, diced

4 Cups Chicken Stock

3 Sprigs of Thyme, and Oregano

2 Cups Corn

1 Cup Parsley, chopped

2 Bay Leaves

3 Tbs Butter

3 Tbs Flour

1 Tbs Guascas

1 Tbs Paprika

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Onion Powder

2 Tbs Capers

1 Tbs Table Cream

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Season the chicken, then sear in a heavy pot on medium-high heat on all sides. Remove from the  heat,  then lower to medium.

2. Add butter and flour, then stir regularly until it turns golden-brown. Add more butter if needed to prevent burning. Add bay leaves, and dried chillies.

3. Add onions, peppers, sweet potatoes and garlic. Sautée and scrape up the fond as you go. Add add herbs, chicken stock, and bring to a boil.

4. Lower heat to medium, then add corn, guascas, paprika,  cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper. When the sweet potatoes soften, add parsley, and lime juice.

5. Serve with cream, avocado, and capers.

Done.