Like many South Americans, Colombians love their soup. Here are a few to try the next time you're there for a visit!
Colombians are fond of soups, which are eaten much more frequently than they are in North America. Each region has different specialties. Soups on the coast obviously feature more seafood, while soups in the highlands tend to be hearty with meat and vegetables. If you’re in town, you owe it to yourself to try some!
Sancocho de Pescado (fish stew): A sancocho is a hearty fish soup that is traditional on the coasts, especially the northern Caribbean coast. It is usually made with sábalo, a large whitefish (?). It often includes chunks of yuca (manioc), green plantains or potatoes.
Ajiaco Santafereño (Santa Fe chicken soup): This traditional soup is perhaps the most typical dish of Bogotá. Ingredients include chicken, onions, potatoes and hunks of corn (still on the cob). It is seasoned with guasca (a local herb), cilantro and bay leaves. It is all cooked together into a thin soup. It is served with separate dishes of cream (used to thicken the ajiaco), capers and avocados. There are recipes for ajiaco, but without guasca and the special “creole potato” (which falls apart while cooking, making the soup thicker) it is hard to properly replicate this recipe if you’re not in Colombia.
Sopa de Pan (Bread Soup): Bogotá is also famous for sopa de pan, a local favorite. It is a relatively simple soup made with beef stock, milk, potatoes, coriander and butter. Sometimes it includes small chunks of beef. Once the broth is ready, is it poured into thick, oven safe bowls (the sort that North Americans usually associate with French onion soup). Bread and cheese is added, and often a fresh egg is cracked on top. The bowls are heated in an oven until the egg is cooked, and then served hot.
Sancocho de Gallina y Cola (Chicken and Oxtail Stew): This stew is a favorite from the Cauca region. A meal in itself, it is usually made with a hunk of beef from the tail area, chicken, onions, tomatoes, garlic, green plantains, potatoes or yuca, zapallo (a sort of squash) and fresh corn, still on the cob. Preparation for this dish is usually long, and it’s a favorite with families when they’re spending the whole day together.
Mondongo (Tripe Soup): Mondongo is a very traditional soup that is a true favorite of Colombians. It can be found most anywhere, but the Antioquia region is famous for it. It consists of tripe (intestines, generally beef but often from pork or even chicken), softened in a pressure cooker, and later cooked together with bits of beef or pork and potatoes. Mondongo usually features a number of spices, which may include saffron, cumin, pepper and others. It’s usually very heavy on the cilantro.
Cuchuco de Trigo (Wheat Soup): In the highlands, descendents of the great Inca Empire still live very traditionally. One of their favorite soups is cuchuco de trigo, a thick, hearty soup made of “cuchuco,” a sort of dried wheat, pork, cilantro and a variety of fresh vegetables, which may include any combination of cabbage, peas, potatoes, onions and garlic.
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