As I did for last year’s winners of the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, I am making one last meal, the champion’s dinner. Egan Bernal now has a Tour de France and Giro victory under his belt. He most likely will not be riding in the 2021 Tour de France, so perhaps he will be resting and training for this year’s Vuelta de España (the last major road race that comprises the grand tours), which would be a great feat.
Egan was born in Bogotá, Colombia, but raised about 40 miles north in a town called Zipaquirá. Since his favorite meal is ramen, I decided to go along the soup route and make a regional favorite: Ajiaco. Ajiaco is an amazingly delicious soup made with chicken, potatoes, onion, corn, and herbs. This is an addictive, great soup. While the recipe below says it serves 6-8 people, it may have been so good that it merely just served 2 very hungry people with a portion and a half leftover. Unfortunately, my guascas still has not yet arrived, so I used dried oregano instead. But, you better believe I will be making this once my delayed amazon shipment of that magical herb arrives.
Ajiaco
from The Kitchn, Sara Kate Gillingham
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Large yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 qt chicken stock
1.5 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
2-3 ears of corn, cut into thirds
1 bunch of cilantro, thoroughly rinsed and tied together with butcher string
1 bunch of green onions tied together with butcher string
2 tbsp dried guascas (or oregano)
Garnish
Avocado, thinly sliced
Mexican Crema (or sour cream)
Chopped cilantro
Drained capers
Place the first 3 ingredients in a casserole dish and season with 1 tbsp each of kosher salt and black pepper. Mix well, cover with cling wrap, and place in the fridge for 8-24 hours to marinate.
When ready to cook, heat the olive oil in a dutch oven, over medium-high heat, and place the chicken into the pot skin-side down, browning each side, about 6 minutes total. Remove the chicken, lower the heat to medium and sauté the onions and garlic from the marinade until softened.
Add the chicken back to the pot, along with the stock, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook the chicken for about 30 minutes.
After the chicken has cooked, remove it to a cutting board to cool. Add the potatoes to the pot and cook, covered, over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then add the corn, herbs and green onions and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
While the soup simmers, remove the skin from the chicken and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces. After the soup has simmered for 20 minutes, remove the cilantro and green onions, and place the shredded chicken back into the pot to heat through for a few minutes. Taste for any seasoning needs.
Ladle the soup into bowls and add garnishes.
______________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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