Ajiaco Santafereño

What it really is

A Bogotá-style chicken and potato soup whose characteristic herb is guascas.

Chicken and several potato varieties simmer with corn and guascas until the broth thickens. It is commonly served with cream and capers at the table, alongside rice or avocado. Guascas gives the soup its distinctive herbal character.

This Bogotá-style soup is made with several potato varieties from the Cundiboyacense highlands, guascas, corn and regional chicken. The regional identity matters: “ajiaco” is used for more than one soup across Latin America, while ajiaco santafereño refers to the Bogotá style. The mix of potatoes is not incidental. As they simmer, some pieces soften into the broth while others remain more intact, giving the bowl both body and pieces to eat. The exact proportions and potato cultivars depend on availability.

Cream and capers are commonly offered as additions at the table, allowing diners to season each serving to taste. Rice and avocado may accompany it, but they are separate from the soup’s defining base. The combination of chicken, potatoes, corn and guascas is the useful menu description; an unspecified “chicken soup” loses the regional and herbal distinctions. Recipes vary by household and restaurant, so the entity records a representative version rather than a single mandatory formula. In particular, kitchens may differ in which potato varieties they use and whether cream or capers are served in the bowl or on the side.

How it's served

• Serve freshly prepared at an appropriate temperature.
• Regional and household recipes vary; verify the actual preparation with the kitchen.
• Offer cream and capers separately when that is the kitchen’s service style; rice and avocado may also be plated as accompaniments.

How to write it on the menu

• Confirm ingredients and preparation for each batch before making allergen or dietary claims.
• Name the Bogotá/Santafereño style and guascas; specify the potato varieties and whether dairy cream is included or served separately.