Ajiaco, a typical dish from Chile that cures hangovers.
We already gave you some tips and tricks to get rid of your hangover. But every country has its own traditional dishes to make the process go faster. We like to give you a taste of the international anti-hangover cuisine. The following recipe is from Chilean soup with beef and potato called ajiaco. This solid soup is an excellent cure for those moments when you regret downing that last bottle of wine the night before.
Outside the Latin American continent Chile is usually known for 2 things; their football team and good wines. Fermented grape juice is also the country’s main export product. However Chile has a lot of other interesting drinks. First of all there’s pisco and cocktails like pisco sour. Although the origin of these drinks lays almost certain in the neighbouring country Peru, many Chileans also claim it as theirs. Another popular drink is jote, which is red wine mixed with cola, or terremoto (translation: earthquake), a liter glass with a sweet wine called pipeño with pineapple and ice cream.
But if you really want to get smashed you should order a bigoteado. This is a lethal cocktail made from all the leftovers of any drinks that happened to be lying around. So even though the recipe for bigoteado is never the same, the experience for those who risk ordering it is. For many the night ended face down on the floor after this drink.
All the more reason for a solid hangover cure and ajiaco most definitely is one. This soup hydrates the body and with a lot of beef and potatoes it gives the body a chance to regain strength. Plus it’s quite easy to prepare too.
Ingredients:
500 gram beef meat
3 medium potatoes
1,5 liter beef broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon oregano
3 cloves of garlic
2 medium carrots
3 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons cilantro
Salt and pepper
4 eggs (optional)
Preparation:
Cook the beef in water for several hours till tender. After that cut up the meat in small cubes. The water can be used as the formentioned beef broth. Now chop the onion, garlic cloves, carrots, potatoes and cilantro but do not mix them yet.
Take a pot, heat up the olive oil and put in the chopped onion. After about 4 minutes you can add the beef cubes, garlic, powdered paprika and oregano. Again wait for 4 minutes and then season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. Right after you can add the broth carrots and parsley. Let the whole thing simmer for 20 minutes.
After that throw in the potatoes and let the soup simmer for another 20 minutes. Now take another pan and poach the eggs for about 5 minutes. Put an egg in each soup bowl and then pour in the soup on top. Finish with some chopped cilantro and you’re done. Enjoy!
Micky Bumbar