Abuelita Carmen's Caldo de Papas

This is another typical breakfast food of the people in the Altiplano Cundi-Boyacense region. It defintely has indigenous roots. In fact, it was the first explorer of the Altiplano Cundi-Boyacense -- Gonzálo Jiménez de Quesada (1536)-- who brought the first potatoes back to Spain. Imagine Spain without Tortilla de Patata. A chorus of "Gracias, Boyacá" can be heard in España today. :)

Now, here’s how you can successfully make some in your own home.


Step #1 --Place the following ingredients in a pot.

8 cups water
3-4 whole green onions with the roots and green stem chopped off

AND one or the other of the following:

3-4 ribs with rib meat OR 3-4 chicken legs with skin.


Step #2 -- BOIL these three ingredients until you have a great broth. Remove the meat/bones (use these in another recipe as typically the meat is not served with the soup).

Step #3 -- ADD:

Several peeled potatoes sliced in 4-6 lengthwise slices. (I prefer Yukon Gold which when peeled are about fist size – in this case I add about 5 potatoes).

1 teaspoon of salt -- or salt to taste

Step #4 -- BOIL until the potatoes are soft and begin to disintegrate. Add more salt if necessary.


Step #5 -- SEPARATELY, mix about

1 teaspoon of FINELY chopped green onion with
½ teaspoon of FINELY chopped cilantro

for each serving bowl you plan to fill with the Potato Broth. Place the onion cilantro mixture in the bottom of each individual serving bowl and then serve the broth and a few potatoes in each bowl.

DELICIOUS! This is one of my favorite Colombian breakfasts.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Step #2-Boil these three ingredients until you have a great broth.

Forgive me for sounding dumb, but how long will it take for it to become great? 1 hr.? 2hrs.? (Simmering) I'd love to try this! Thanks. :o)
Colombian Mommy said…
No dumb questions -- just a dumb blog author whose instructions aren't clear enough sorry! :)

I would suggest that you bring it to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes and then reduce to a simmer and cover for about 30-40 minutes. Sometimes I add a bit more water as a lot boils out. You want to make sure that the broth has color -- greenish brown (ribs) or yellow (chicken). You can also taste it, if it tastes like a rich broth then you are good to go, if not, leave it a bit longer. Again, unfortunately, my mother-in-law has no recipe. I just try to write down what she does and immitate it here at home. I'd love to hear how your Caldo de Papas turns out.
Kit said…
My suggestion is to definitely have this on a cold day with plenty of Hot Chocolate in your mugs. This is my most favorite Colombian food and is worth making in the morning before heading out. It also keeps you full if you have a long day ahead of you.
Kit said…
Oh, and one more thing, (for the beef broth) I put in 1 Knorr Caldo de Costillo bouillon cube to help flavor the broth; it usually doesn't need salt if you do put one in.
Daniel said…
I love caldo de papas!! I actually have some hueso hidden somewhere in the freezer, that sounds good for dinner tonight.
Anonymous said…
Thank for all the great tips!!! I'll let you know how it turns out. :o)
Anonymous said…
My boyfriend is from Colombia and he and his family make caldo de papa differently...they don't use any meat to create a broth, just boiled water, green onions, salt, garlic & onion pieces (garlic and onion are just to flavor and then removed before serving), they cut the potatos into thin slices and actually crack open a few eggs to boil in the water...it's really yummy, but definitely a bit different than this "traditional" caldo de papa i think!
Maria D. said…
i'm 24 years old and was adopted from Colombia as a baby with my sister. My adoptive mother used to make this all the time so upon looking up the recipe now to make for the kids I nanny for I was thrilled to come across this blog. I'm not a child anymore but I still want to real through all your posts just to see what you have to say =)
Anonymous said…
The caldo de papa basic recipe would have aditional ingredients depends on region/state you are. It would never ever have things like knorr or boubillon base broths. The idea it is to nake it simple, tasty and natiral from the scratch.

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