Cazuela de ave — Chilean chicken soup with potato, squash and corn
Chilean cazuela de ave in 1 hour 20 minutes: chicken legs in clear broth with potato, squash, corn, green beans and rice, added in the right order.
Recipe in testing. We published it before cooking it in our kitchen. Once we cook it, we will adjust whatever it needs and remove this note.
What cazuela de ave is and why it is called «de ave»
Cazuela de ave is Chilean cazuela made with chicken: bone-in pieces, almost always whole legs, cooked in a clear broth with potato, squash and corn, plus green beans or peas and a little rice, chuchoca or thin noodles. It is served in a deep bowl, with one piece of chicken, one potato, a wedge of squash and a piece of corn covered in broth, and chopped cilantro on top. «Cazuela de ave» (poultry cazuela) and «cazuela de pollo» (chicken cazuela) name the same dish; «ave» also covers the versions made with a free-range hen or with turkey. Like every cazuela, it grew out of Spanish stews and broths combined with ingredients native to the Americas, such as potato, squash and corn.
Instructions
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Peel and cut the vegetables
Peel the potatoes, leave them whole and keep them in a bowl of cold water so they do not darken. Cut the squash into 4 even wedges without peeling it, halve the ears of corn and cut the green beans into 3 cm pieces. Finely dice the onion, chop the garlic and slice the carrot thinly. Pull the skin off the chicken legs, gripping it with a piece of kitchen paper so it does not slip: that is where most of the fat is, and without it the broth comes out lighter. If you prefer a richer, fattier broth, leave it on.
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Start the chicken in cold water and skim
Put the chicken legs in a large pot, about 5 litres, with the 2.5 litres of cold water and 1 teaspoon of salt, and set it over medium heat: it takes about 15 minutes to boil. Starting cold puts more flavour into the broth, and because the chicken heats up gradually, the proteins it releases gather into a murky foam just as the water comes to the boil. Skim it off with a spoon for 2-3 minutes, until hardly any more forms, then turn the heat down low. From now on the broth should barely tremble, with the odd bubble: a hard boil beats the fat into the broth and turns it cloudy.
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Sauté the onion with the ají de color
While the water heats, warm the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion and carrot for 5-6 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not browned. Add the garlic, oregano and cumin and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Take the pan off the heat, add the ají de color and stir for a few seconds: the hot oil draws out its colour, but over the flame it burns in an instant and turns bitter. Once you have skimmed the broth, tip the sofrito into the pot and rinse the pan with a ladleful of broth so nothing is lost; added before skimming, the coloured oil would go out with the foam. Half-cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat.
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Add the potatoes
Drain the potatoes, add them whole and let the broth come back to a gentle tremble; cook for 10 minutes with the pot half-covered. They go in first because they take the longest: a whole medium potato needs about 30 minutes to turn tender right to the centre, and with this head start it finishes at the same time as the squash and corn.
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Add the squash, corn and rice
Add the squash, corn and rice, stir gently along the bottom so the rice does not stick, and cook for 12 minutes over low heat. Squash and corn are done in about 20 minutes: put in with the potatoes, the squash would end up dissolved in the broth. The rice cooks in the same time and gives the broth a little body without thickening it. If you are using chuchoca or noodles instead of rice, hold them back for now.
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Finish with the green beans
Add the green beans and cook for 8 minutes more, until tender and still bright green. If using chuchoca, sprinkle it in now a little at a time, stirring so it does not form lumps; if using angel-hair noodles, add them for the last 3-4 minutes. Before turning off the heat, check that everything is done: a knife slides through the potato without resistance, the squash is soft but whole and the chicken pulls away from the bone when pushed with a spoon; if anything still resists, give it 3-5 minutes more. With a thermometer, the thickest part of the leg, without touching the bone, should read at least 74 °C (165 °F), the minimum safe temperature for chicken according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Taste the broth and adjust the salt and pepper.
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Serve one piece per bowl
Serve straight away, because the rice keeps soaking up broth in the pot. In deep bowls, place one piece of chicken, one potato, a wedge of squash and a piece of corn in each, then cover with hot broth, sharing out the rice, green beans and carrot. Finish with chopped cilantro just before it goes to the table: heat dulls its aroma within minutes. Serve with bread and, if you like, pebre (Chilean fresh salsa) or green chilli on the side.
Nutrition information
| Calories | 570 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 44 g |
| Carbs | 65 g |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 16 g |
| Trans fat | 0 g |
Values per serving (1 of 4).
Frequently asked questions
Which chicken piece is best for cazuela de ave?
A whole bone-in leg, that is, thigh and drumstick in one piece: it stands up to the 45 minutes of cooking without drying out, turns tender and flavours the broth. Allow one of about 300 g per person. Breast is leaner and dries out if it simmers that long; if you prefer it, use half a bone-in breast per person, add it with the potatoes, about 30 minutes before the end, and check that it reaches 74 °C (165 °F) in the thickest part. Wings add flavour and gelatine to the broth but carry little meat: use them as an extra, not as the piece in the bowl.
Is cazuela de ave the same as cazuela de pollo?
Yes: they are two names for the same dish, which is usually made with chicken legs. «De ave» (poultry) leaves room for the versions made with a free-range hen (gallina de campo) or with turkey, which are also cooked in Chile. A hen is an adult bird with firmer meat and needs much longer cooking than a chicken: simmer it on its own, starting in cold water over low heat, until the meat gives when pierced with a fork, and only then carry on with the sofrito and the vegetables as in this recipe. The same rule applies to turkey legs.
Rice, chuchoca or noodles: what goes in cazuela de ave?
Any of the three, and each one changes the broth. Rice keeps it clear, with separate grains, and goes in about 20 minutes before the end. Chuchoca, which is fresh corn that has been cooked, dried and coarsely ground, thickens it and makes it creamier: use about 60 g and add it for the last 8 minutes, sprinkled in a little at a time and stirred so it does not form lumps. Thin noodles such as angel hair cook in 3-4 minutes but keep absorbing broth, so they go in at the end and the cazuela is served at once.
Why does the chicken start in cold water when the beef for cazuela de vacuno is browned?
Because each meat needs something different. Bone-in beef simmers for 45 minutes before the vegetables go in, and browning it first gives the toasted flavour that carries that broth. Chicken has a milder flavour and cooks faster: started cold, it releases more flavour into the water in a short time and the foam rises all at once, easy to skim, so the broth stays clear and takes an orange tint from the ají de color. Browning the pieces is also a traditional way to make it, with a darker, toastier broth: if you prefer that, brown them for 3-4 minutes per side in the pot, make the sofrito in the same pot and cover with hot water.
How long does cazuela de ave keep, and how do I reheat it?
Refrigerate it within 2 hours of cooking, divided into shallow covered containers so it cools quickly. It then keeps for 3-4 days, or 2-3 months frozen, according to USDA guidance. To reheat, bring it to the boil in a pan and add a little hot water, because the rice will have absorbed some of the broth. If you plan to freeze it, take out the potatoes, which turn grainy when thawed; it is better to cook fresh potatoes in the broth when you reheat it.
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