Ajiaco

Ajiaco opened a door into a cuisine I'd previously known almost nothing about. The subtly sweet with tropical fruit flavours are unlike anything in my usual rotation and I mean that positively. Colombian cuisine varies dramatically between the coastal Caribbean, Andean, and Amazonian regions. Unders…

I made Ajiaco for eight guests who had varying familiarity with the cuisine. Every single person asked for the recipe. The subtly sweet with tropical fruit profile was the main talking point — no one had quite experienced achiote annatto used that way before. Colombian cuisine varies dramatically b…

What sets Ajiaco apart is the handling of Colombian hogao tomato sauce. In lesser versions this is treated as a background note. Here it's central and the subtly sweet with tropical fruit result shows it. I've started buying it to cook with at home after this experience. Colombian cuisine varies dr…