Ajiaco Cubano (Ajiaco criollo)

Name: Ajiaco Cubano
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 180 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cuba
Ingredients: 300 g pork, 300 g beef, 200 g tasajo (soaked); 200 g malanga, 200 g yuca, 200 g boniato; 1 green and 1 ripe plantain; 2 ears corn, cut into pieces; 300 g pumpkin; sofrito of onion, garlic, green pepper and tomato; cumin, lime, salt

Overview

Ajiaco cubano is a hearty Cuban stew-soup made with several kinds of meat and many root vegetables. Pork, beef, chicken and tasajo, a salted dried beef, are simmered into a broth, then malanga, yuca, boniato sweet potato, yam, pumpkin, plantains and pieces of corn on the cob are added. Some of the vegetables break down and thicken the soup. It is finished with a sofrito of onion, garlic, pepper and tomato and a squeeze of lime. It is thick and filling, and it is usually eaten as a complete meal.

History

Ajiaco is thought to have roots in the stews of the Taíno people, and absorbed Spanish and African ingredients over time. The Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz famously described Cuba itself as an ajiaco, a pot in which many cultures are cooking together. It is unrelated to the Colombian ajiaco except by name. It is also popular in Cuban communities abroad.

Main ingredients

Pork and beef, tasajo (dried beef), malanga, yuca and sweet potato, green and ripe plantain, corn on the cob, pumpkin. The soup is built on meat broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.

Explore: Beef soups · Pork soups · Pumpkin and squash soups · Corn soups

Recipe outline serves 4 · ~180 min

Ingredients

300 g pork, 300 g beef, 200 g tasajo (soaked)
200 g malanga, 200 g yuca, 200 g boniato
1 green and 1 ripe plantain
2 ears corn, cut into pieces
300 g pumpkin
sofrito of onion, garlic, green pepper and tomato
cumin, lime, salt

Allergens: None of the 14 major allergens in the base recipe. Based on the typical recipe. Recipes and products vary; always check labels if you have an allergy.