Colombian Archives - Jenny is baking

Ajiaco – Colombian Chicken and Potatoe Stew

Ajiaco, a Colombian chicken and potatoe stew is my absolutely favorite soup or stew from Colombia. It is originally from the capital city Bogotá and is known by its full name “ajiaco bogotano or santafereño”. It is in fact so famous that it is often served during Christmas. If you are interested in Colombian Christmas traditions and recipes, check out this blog article. However, I had not attempted to make this delicious stew because I was under the impression that some important ingredients could not be found in Germany. For example the key herb galinsoga , I had checked everywhere and could not find it. But one reader pointed out to me that you don’t need it fresh, but that you can find it online once dried or that one Latin American store may even have it fresh in Munich. So when I finally got this herb and made the recipe here in Germany, it really tasted almost like in Colombia!

04/12/2025

Torta negra from Colombia and Venezuela

Torta negra from Colombia or Venezuela is the equivalent to German stollen, it is made a few weeks in advance. The cake can also be served fresh, however, it will develop more flavor over time. In Colombia and Venezuela the dried fruit soak in rum or wine for a year! Apparently it is common to use the preparation that was made a year before and immediately make a new batch, which is then going to be used in a year. Crazy, right? I didn’t do that, I soaked the dried fruit for a week and it was just as delicious. Torta negra has similarties with the British fruit cake. It is a heavy batter with dried fruits. However, unlike fruit cake from Britain, this one contains burnt sugar (quemado or dulce de panela), which has a slightly bitter caramel flavor. The dried fruits are local, so you may find mango, pineapple, and papaya. In addition, chopped nuts are a must. But just like British fruit cake, it is also soaked in alcohol, traditionally rum or wine, but you may also find wine. It is often served for weddings or birthdays. My husband’s grandfather, who was the baker of a Colombian village, made this cake often a month in advance for weddings.

28/11/2025

Huevos Pericos – Colombian Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoe and Spring Onion

I will never forget the first time I was asked in a hotel in Colombia what I wanted for breakfast. I replied: “arepas“, a flatbread made from corn, which there are millions of variations of. The person looked at me in disgust, clearly, there were going to be arepas, duh, the question was how I wanted my eggs. Whether I wanted regular scrambled eggs, or scrambled eggs with sausage, or with tomatoes and spring onions, which is the “huevos pericos.” I had never tried this version and therefore asked for “huevos pericos.” Below I introduce you to the recipe and also outline how a typical breakfast in Colombia looks like and what is going to be served.

A typcial Colombian breakfast: arepa con queso with scrambled eggs and freshly pressed juice

Continue Reading…

12/09/2025

Colombian Arroz Paisa (Rice Stew)

“Arroz paisa” or “arroz antioqueño” comes from the region Antioquia in Colombia. It is related to the national dish bandeja paisa. The main difference between these two dishes is that in this case all ingredients are mixed together. Some components are also missing here, but I believe this dish is just as delicious. Arroz paisa contains fried meat, yellow plantain that is also fried, and the sauce named “hogao” or “guiso”. For this sauce you will fry onions with tomatoe and use some typical herbs. The dish is rounded off with rice, black beans, avocado, and lots and lots of cilantro.
Continue Reading…

29/08/2025

Pasteles Gloria from Colombia

Have you ever heard of pasteles Gloria from Colombia? These are not to be confused with the ones from Spain, which contain marzipan. One distiction is that the Spanish ones are called pasteles DE Gloria. The Colombian ones are made with puff pastry, quince paste (originally with guava), and mozzarella. Often the caramel spread named arequipe is also added. Mozzarella combined with jam is very popular in all of Latin America. These turnovers aka empanadas with quince paste and mozzarella are just one example. I am going to make the puff pastry myself. I recently found out that bought puff pastry often contains palm oil instead of butter. This also explains why the first time around they didn’t taste very nice as I used store-bought. Instead we are going to do it ourselves, trust me, they will be amazing!

01/08/2025

Pan de bonos from Colombia (gluten-free)

Wow, guys, really? 85% of you said on Insta that you want another pan de bono recipe on the blog. So I will happily oblige. Below version is made with Russian tvorog, which is a cream cheese also available here in Germany. My Colombian hubby says this is the closest I have gotten to the Colombian original, so I will take this as a huge win. Believe me, I have made probably thousands of pan de bonos by now, I have tried so many different cheeses, I have used mozzarella, and feta, I used queso de Burgos in Spain and a cheese called “Schichtkäse” here in Germany. Now we will turn to tvorog as this seems to be pretty close to the Colombian “queso costeño”, which is used originally.

25/02/2025

Cuchuco, Colombian Wheat and Pork Stew

My hubby graciously allowed me to write down this recipe for a Colombian wheat and pork stew called cuchuco. I didn’t know of its existence, but once I tried it, I was sold. It is perfect in winter as it has wheat or barley kernels, as well a cabbage varieties. If you are into one-pot stews, this one is definitely one to try!

03/01/2025

Colombian Buñuelos with German Ingredients

Yay, today I get to introduce Colombian buñuelos with German ingredients. I already have a buñuelos recipe on the blog. However, for the previous recipe we had to make the cheese ourselves. But now I managed to make a recipe with cheeses that are readily available in Germany. So let me introduce to you these cheese fritters. They are traditionally served in December, for sure for Christmas, but also for New Year’s. If you would like to learn more about Colombian Christmas traditions and recipes, check out that blog post. Just as I managed to make Colombian pandebonos with this farmer’s cheese, I replaced the Colombian queso costeño with it. I also like to use a mix and throw in feta cheese. As cheeses have a different amount of liquid, I had to tweak the recipe a bit, but then it was perfect!

29/11/2024

Pollo Sudado – Colombian Chicken Stew

Pollo sudado is a popular chicken stew in Colombia. First you fry some vegetables, mainly onions and tomatoes, and to this mixture you add raw chicken and raw potatoes. You cover this with a lid and steam this with the water slowly. “Sudado” literally translates as “sweated”, the idea is that the chicken is steamed in the liquid of the vegetables. This may sound a bit strange, I agree. I was suspicious, I mean raw chicken is not something anyone wants. However, since it is one of the favorite dishes of my husband, I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised. It does get a different kind of flavor from this vegetable steam. The best thing? It tastes even better on day 2 or 3!

15/11/2024

Arroz con Pollo from Colombia

Arroz con pollo can be translated as “rice with chicken”. This is a one-pot meal popular in all of Latin America. Each country has their secret ingredient, each one swears their version is the best. Below version is popular in Colombia aka is the recipe from my mom-in-law. Yes, it contains the three main components, rice, chicken, and vegetables. But my mother-in-law likes to spice it up using some sausages in addition. She also swears by preparing each component separately to keep the rice moist. It is only at the end that she combines all the three. So this is not the traditional way of preparing this meal, but I have to say, I like her version a lot. Otherwise you may end up with a pretty dry dish.

09/12/2023

Older Posts