Ajiaco Bogotano (Colombia) Recipe - Making Life Delicious (2024)

Deanne, thanks so much for the tip on the papas! I'll keep my eye out for the little frozen gems!

i make ajiaco a lot for my cachaco husband. the only thing i do differently from your recipe is that i use homemade chicken stock to deepen the flavour. i have never been able to find papas criollas on a regular basis here in toronto though. 🙁

what is quascas? I have had ajiaco many times but it was always prepared by the muchacha on Sundays before her afternoon off. I am talking about 35 years ago. jb

J: Guascas is an herb that grows wild, and is in fact considered an invasive plant in the U.S. (see links above) If you don't have any growing in your back yard, you can order dried guascas online from Hatogrande or Amigo Foods.

My fiancé is from Bogotá and when we were in the grocery store one day he pointed out the tiny dutch creamer potatos and said they were the same as the papas criollas.

Hi Casey: You know, I saw those at a local grocery store recently and thought that they might work! So I bought some and have actually planted them in pots indoors to see if I can grow my own papas criollas. 🙂

I follow your instruction and it turn out a great celebration dish, thank you much.
Sylvia.
from Chile in USA.

Sylvia, I'm so glad you liked it!

hello Andrea...well my mom gave me the same recipe you have...which means that most o be good!!! but I have one ?, she said that I should add the patatoes by steps, first red patatoes, then Rosset and finally yellow...could that change the thickness of my Ajiaco? she said that this little thing is as important as guascas in the soup...HELP I need it for this Christmas!!

Well, to be honest I'm not sure! I didn't learn to do it that way, and none of my written sources mention it. That being said, if this is your mom's secret to making the ajiaco even thicker and richer, then I'm all for it. I'll have to give it a try!

My husband is colombian and his family serves this soup for christmas. The frozen papas criollas are easy to find in latin markets. Birds eye also sells them. My grocer will order them for me if I ask. The Peruvian or Colomian corn really makes a diference in the soup because it is not sweet. It is worth the longer cooking time if yoou can find it.

I loved your recipe only two things were missing the Green Onions & two cloves of garlic , my mom is from Bogota.
Thank You ,Adrian.

Adrian, thanks for the tip about the green onions and garlic. I've never had ajiaco with those before.

I went recently to Bogotá to meet an internet friend for the first time and she introduced me to Ajiaco. I ate it in several different restaurants in Bogotá. I am going to make it this week and I asked my lady friend if your recipe is accurate and she said it should be perfect. I found the guascas and papas criollas at Latinas Americas supermarket in east Orlando, Florida. There is also a Colombian restaurant here (Gloria's Cafe) that serves DELICIOUS ajiaco on Thursdays. I can't wait to try this recipe!!
Thanks, Andrea.

My friend from Colombia turned me on to ajiaco. I LOVE THIS STUFF! Glad to find a simple recipe for it on the web. Thanks!

Jessica: Gracias por visitar mi blog. ¡Disfruté de cocinar en Colombia!

Andrea Puedes comprar las papas que necesites en Weston Florida tenemos un supermercado Colombiano.

Andrea: Received a package of guascus from a native of Columbia about a year ago. It does not have an expiration date on it. Do you think it is still usable?

Hi Pauline. Yes, as long as the guascas has been stored away from bright light and kept sealed, it should be fine to use.

Andrea, my mother has alwasy been able to find guascas and frozen papas criollas in Colombian bakeries in Miami. I live in Tampa and am hoping to be able to find also so I can cook my first ajiaco this Christmas!

Andrea, my mother has alwasy been able to find guascas and frozen papas criollas in Colombian bakeries in Miami. I live in Tampa and am hoping to be able to find also so I can cook my first ajiaco this Christmas! Oh, and my mother is from Bogota and definitely uses scallions.

Andrea,
I am very very glad you enjoy ajiaco so much. I am colombian, and I found this website because I want to try to make Ajiaco this weekend.
But I have to make a comment (don't take it wrong).
Bogotano doesn't have an accent. Bogotá does.
Just wante to point that out if you'd like to correct the work on this site.
Cheers,
Luisa
=)

Hi Luis. The plant grows wild in the U.S. (aka gallant soldier), but it's considered an invasive weed in most states. I've searched but have never found a source of seeds. If you ever find some seeds, feel free to share the source here.

Hi there:
Just a couple of weeks ago a Colombian friend made ajiaco for me. I almost died of delight. I'm from Venezuela and we're used to eating our sancocho de whatever, but I have to say that there's nothing as heavenly as the ajiaco colombiano. I'll take an ajiaco over a sancocho any time.

papas criollas are very easy to grow. if you happen to get them "fresh" in the market,keep one or two in a cool dark place over the winter. after a while they start to grow, then plant them in the garden in early spring... and then you will enjoy them late summer/fall. as for the next years go, I keep some in the ground over the winter and then in early spring I dig them up and replant them or you can keep them in the frige, but sometimes they go bad (they have a lot of water). I live in WA state, they like regular garden soil and lots of sun, but not too much heat. My mom tried to grow them in souther california, but they didn't do well... As for the guacas go, I got a handful of them growing in a garden pot... and so with this in mind, I will for the first time ever... will try to make the famous sancocho bogotano... thanks for the recepie.

Andrea thanks so much for your ideas, I've wrecking my brains trying to find an ajiaco recipe that will give substitutes for the ingredients not easily found in the states. Now my gringo husband can have an authentic Colombian Christmas eve dinner.

I smuggled a bag of papa criolla I purchased in El Exito in Colombia back to Canada. I now have a batch growing in my garden, and a constant supply to satisfy every Ajiaco craving I could ever have.

If you can't find guascas, I've found that a combination of a handful of fresh oregano, a half-handful of fresh thyme, and a generous handful of fresh cilantro works. When I made the soup that way, my Cachaco husband said it was better than his mom's--something he never said before or since!

Thanks for this great recipe. I can't wait to try this weekend. I am from Bogota and I have been dying to duplicate the amazing Ajiaco that I would have everytime I was home. I just have a quick question. In step 1 where you say to add water to the chicken, do you put the entire amount of water at the very beginning to cook the chicken or just part of it? You put no other spices in the water?

I have a question about the amount of Guascas. I found dehydrated Guascas at my local international supermarket. The package is 0.35 oz and I'd say about two handfuls. You reference 2 ounces and I'm assuming this is for fresh and not dehydrated. Can you give me an idea of whether or not I should use the whole package or just a portion of it?

Anybody knows where can I find Colombian corn on the cob in the DC area?

i am living in bogota right now and am kinda a cook at heart and learned from my mother in law here that with the guascasare for the last 15 to 25 minutes and while cooking the chicken use a whole pack or bundle of cilantro and some onion.

have always loved the smell and flavor of quascas. just wondering . . . are there any other colombian recipes that call for quascas?

I am not sure if you will receive this email. I would like to know if you have any updates on how to obtain guasca seeds and papa criolla for planting. Wife is Colombian. We live in Nebraska. Would be nice to have a touch of the "old country" in our back yard. In any event, best wishes. Mark

Hi, your recipe with the comments below are very helpful. My nieces and nephew are from Colombia. We have special birthday meals for them with empanadas, ajiaco and rice. I was told (by a Colombian friend) to allow the papas criollas to almost dissolve to help with the creaminess as well.

Hello, I making ajiaco today but I am using boneless chicken breast. Can I chicken broth instead of water or both and how should I cook the chicken breasts kin with the the soup? At what point?

No cilantro please that is a mistake

Hiya. I used butternut squash to replace the papas criollas. Worked well.

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