Nora's Notebook/Le carnet de Nora/Carnetul Norei: Ajiaco

This is my favourite Colombian soup. First time I ate it in the house of an American friend. She had a Colombian boyfriend and when the love was finished she still kept the recipe and liked to prepare it often. She ended up marrying another Colombian. No wonder.

2 quarts homemade chicken stock (or low-sodium canned stock)

1 whole bone-in, skin-on chicken breast, split (12 to 16 ounces total)

1 large onion, split in half

2 bay leaves

2 pounds russet potatoes (about 2 medium) peeled and cut into rough 1-inch chunks

2 pounds papas Criollas (about 20 potatoes), peeled

1 pound Red Bliss potatoes (about 2 small), peeled, split into quarters lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch slices

1/4 cup dried guascas (a local herb but you can use parsley instead)

2 ears corn, shucked and broken into 3 pieces each

1 small onion, finely diced (about 3/4 cup)

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 serrano or 1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely minced

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup sour cream, thinned with 1 tablespoon milk

1/2 cup capers, rinsed, drained, and roughly chopped

1 ripe avocado, preferably smooth, light-green fuerte variety, sliced into wedges

Procedures

Combine chicken stock, chicken breast, onion, bay leaves, potatoes, and guascas in a large saucepot or Dutch oven. Add more water if necessary to cover solids by 1-inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until chicken breast is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken breast to plate and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
Continue to simmer potatoes until russets and papas Criollas are completely tender and falling apart, about 45 minutes longer, adding more water as necessary. Discard onion and bay leaves. Using whisk, mash potato pieces against side of pot and stir vigorously to thicken soup. The soup should be thick, with large chunks of potatoes still remaining.
Add corn cobs and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is cooked and soup is thickened to the consistency of thick heavy cream, about 15 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
While soup is cooking, make the aji: Combine onion, cilantro, and chile pepper in small serving bowl and add water until just covered. Season generously with salt and stir to combine. Set aside. Discard chicken skin and bones. Shred meat into bite-size pieces and set aside in serving bowl.
Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, passing picked chicken, chopped capers, sour cream, and aji table-side for diners to add to their bowl. Serve avocado slices on the side.

Et en francais:

Ingrédients (pour 6 personnes) : - 3 oignons
- 1 petit bouquet de coriandre
- 2 poulets de 2 à 2,5 kg coupés en morceaux
- 2 bouillons-cubes de volaille
- 750 g de pommes de terre ("sabanera") épluchées et coupées en rondelles
- 500 g de pommes de terre jaunes ("criolla") épluchées
- 1 kg de pommes de terre "pastusa" épluchées et coupées en rondelles
- 1 bol et demi de feuilles de "guascas" fraîches
- 5 épis de maïs, moyens, coupés en trois
- clous de girofle
- sel et poivre

Préparation de la recette :

Dans une casserole, mettez les oignons, le coriandre, le sel et les poulets. Couvrez d'eau. Faites cuire à feu vif en écumant. Puis réduisez le feu et laissez cuire.

Quand le poulet commence à être cuit, retirez le coriandre et les oignons et ajoutez les bouillons-cubes. Poivrez. Mettez en plus la pomme de terre "sabanera" et laissez cuire à feu moyen pendant 30 min.

Quand les poulets sont cuits, sortir les pour les laisser refroidir puis les débiter en petits morceaux.

Mettez ensuite dans la casserole les pommes de terre "criolla" et "pastusa" et vérifiez l'assaisonnement. Ajoutez les feuilles de guasca et les épis de maïs. Poursuivez la cuisson pendant 15 min.

Quand les pommes de terre sont cuites, remettez les morceaux de poulet et laissez cuire 5 à 10 min encore.

Servez bien chaud, accompagné de crème fraîche, de câpres, de piment et de tranches d'avocat bien mûres.