Ajiaco

Ajiaco is a potato 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 (tiny "papas criollas" that fall apart and thicken the soup, 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, this 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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