Ajiaco: Bogotá's Chicken and Three-Potato Soup That Is Colombia's Comfort Food

Ajiaco is the dish that represents Bogotá — not the coast (that's fish and coconut), not Antioquia (bandeja paisa), not the Llanos (beef and grilled meats). The highland city at 2,600 meters altitude produces a cold, misty climate that calls for this kind of soup: thick, warming, deeply flavorful from long chicken cooking, with a starchy richness that comes from specific potato varieties dissolving into the broth.

The dish has pre-Colombian origins — soups made from local potato varieties were part of the diet of the Muisca people who inhabited the Bogotá plateau before the Spanish arrived. The chicken, corn, and specific herbs were incorporated over centuries into the version that is now Colombia's most culturally specific soup.

The Three Potatoes

This is what makes ajiaco unique — not one potato, but three varieties with different purposes:

Papa criolla (Solanum phureja): A small, yellow-fleshed potato endemic to the Andean region. When cooked for an extended time, papas criollas break down almost completely and dissolve into the soup, naturally thickening the broth and giving it its characteristic yellow color and starchy body. This is irreplaceable — it is the thickening agent and the color source. Outside Colombia, frozen papas criollas are available at Latin American grocery stores. No substitute fully replicates the thickening function.

Papa pastusa (or papa de año): A medium-sized yellow potato that holds its shape better through long cooking. Provides the potato chunks that remain intact in the finished soup.

Papa sabanera (or papa negra): A larger, starchier white potato. Also remains relatively intact.

The combination produces a soup with both body (from the dissolved papas criollas) and texture (from the intact varieties) — a sophisticated two-texture approach that is more complex than any single-potato soup.

Guascas

The essential herb that distinguishes ajiaco from any other potato-chicken soup. Galinsoga parviflora, called guascas in Colombia — a slightly herbal, slightly earthy plant from the Andes with no close substitute in flavor. It is used dried. Outside Latin America, guascas is available at Colombian grocery stores and online (dried).

Without guascas, the soup is chicken and potato soup. With guascas, it is ajiaco.

The Chicken

Bone-in chicken (traditionally a whole chicken cut up, or backs and legs) is cooked in the soup from the beginning. The long cooking extracts flavor from the bones into the broth. After cooking, the chicken is shredded and returned to the soup.

The cooking time is long — 45 minutes to an hour — which allows the papas criollas to dissolve while the broth develops flavor from the chicken.

Garnishes

Ajiaco is served with a set of garnishes that complete the dish:

Crema de leche (or sour cream): A spoonful stirred in at the table or spooned on top. Capers: Salty, briny, cut the richness. Avocado: Half an avocado per bowl, cubed or sliced, added at the table. White rice: Optional but traditional, served alongside.

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Recipe: Ajiaco Bogotano (Serves 6)

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg), cut into pieces, OR 1 kg chicken legs and thighs
• 500g papas criollas (or frozen papa criolla), peeled
• 400g papa pastusa or yellow Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into chunks
• 300g papa sabanera or russet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 ears of corn, cut into 5cm rounds
• 3 tablespoons dried guascas
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 large onion, halved
• 3 green onions
• 2 liters water or light chicken stock
• Salt to taste

For serving:

• Crema de leche or sour cream
• Capers
• Ripe avocado
• Fresh cilantro

Method:

1. Place chicken in a large pot with water, halved onion, garlic, and whole cilantro bunch. Bring to a boil; skim foam. Add salt, green onions, guascas, and all potato varieties. Add corn rounds.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 45–55 minutes until chicken is completely tender. During this time, stir occasionally — the papas criollas will gradually dissolve into the broth, thickening it and turning it pale yellow.

3. Remove chicken. Remove and discard onion, cilantro stems. Pull chicken meat from bones; shred. Return shredded chicken to the pot.

4. Taste; adjust salt. The soup should be thick (from the dissolved papas criollas), savory, and fragrant with guascas.

5. Serve in deep bowls with corn rounds visible. Pass crema, capers, and avocado at the table for guests to add themselves.