Ajiaco Criollo
- For 5 people
Tasajo (230 g) (dried beef)
Pork meat (230 g) ...it is often the pig's head that is used for larger volumes to be prepared.
Bacon (100g)
Plantains (2 units)
Malanga (2 units) (taro)
Young ears of corn (2 units)
Medium slice of squash (1 unit)
Sweet potatoes (2 units)
Garlic cloves (4 units)
Large onion (1 unit)
Hot or medium peppers (2 units)
Natural tomatoes (3 units)
Tablespoon of concentrated sauce or tomato puree (1)
Tablespoons of fat (2)
Salt to taste
Soak the beef jerky for a few hours.
Cut the pork into pieces (or wash the pig's head well, if applicable, and cut it into several parts)
Peel and cut the spices very finely.
Chop the bacon without the skin into small squares.
Peel and cut the various vegetables and tubers available into medium pieces.
Wash the corn cobs and cut them into medium pieces.
In a fairly deep saucepan, or a pressure cooker, cook the tasajo for 30 minutes; then add the pork and continue to cook until it is tender too.
Then add the corn and cook in the same way until it is soft.
Finally add the vegetables and roots; and a sauce, prepared separately, made from bacon, spices and tomato puree, sofrito.
Cook everything for another 15 minutes under pressure and add salt to taste.
Serve hot in a soup bowl or deep dish.
Ajiaco is very nutritious and is said to be capable of, as they say on the island: “levantar un muerto” (resurrect the dead).
