Vegan Ajiaco Soup

This hearty soup has a unique flavour and is traditionally enjoyed with chicken in Colombia. Our vegan variation is made using three varieties of potato, corn on the cob and an aromatic herb called guascas. This unusual herb is the star of the show but can be a little tricky to find, so replace it with bay leaf and thyme if needed.

Ingredients

A glug of olive oil
1 diced onion
3 cloves of minced garlic
1800ml vegetable stock
75g guascas (preferably fresh but dried works too)
Ground pepper
2 sliced russet potatoes
3 sliced red potatoes (e.g. Desiree or rooster)
3 sliced gold potatoes (e.g. papas criollas or yukon)
2 corn cobs
3 spring onions
A bunch of coriander, chopped finely
2tbsp lime juice

Additional Garnishes

Capers
Sliced avocado
Vegan sour cream

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pan. Fry the onion at medium heat for four minutes until translucent, then add garlic and sauté for another minute.

Turn the heat to high and add your vegetable stock, red and russet potatoes, guascas and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and leave the pan partially covered with a lid to simmer.

Leave to cook for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender- you can mash them with a fork a little to thicken the soup.

Add the golden potatoes (papa criollas or yukon) along with the corn, spring onion and coriander. Simmer for a further 15 minutes or until the potatoes and corn are tender.

Season to taste and add lime juice, before removing from the heat and serving up hot with capers, sliced avocado and vegan sour cream. Enjoy!