Caldo de Pollo: A Traditional Mayan Soup Recipe

This is a traditional Mayan chicken soup.

Ingredients
•1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
•Salt and pepper to taste
•.5 Kg (1 pound) choco with summer squash as a substitute, cut into chunks
•6 cloves garlic, mashed
•60 ml (1/4 cup) chopped fresh cilantro
•120 ml (1/2 cup) chopped fresh mint
•15 ml (1 tablespoon) annatto paste 
•5 ml (1 teaspoon) habanero powder
•.9 Kg (2 pounds) potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
•2 ripe plantain, cut into quarters
•Corn tortillas for serving

Preparation

Place 8 liters (3 quarts) of water into a large soup pot and add the chicken pieces. Add the salt. Bring to a boil, then add the choco or squash and garlic, herbs, annatto and habanero powder. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Add the potatoes and plantain and cook for 10 more minutes. Serve with tortillas.

About the author

Rachel Forrest is a freelance features journalist living in Belize. She is co-author of Maine Classics: 150 Delicious Recipes from Downeast with James Beard Award winning chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier and Contributing Editor at Eat Drink Lucky. Check-in to www.rachel-forrest.com for updates and news about some exciting upcoming projects, including “This Belizean Life”, a compilation of stories, audio and video about the wonderful people living in or near Oxmul Kah.

Photo credit: David J. Murray

Rachel Forrest

Rachel Forrest is a food and drink writer and cookbook author living in Oxmul Kah, Belize with her husband, Jim, three dogs, a cat and a parrot. She is the co-author of Maine Classics: 150 Delicious Recipes from Downeast and is a Content Strategist for Gannett and Contributing Editor at Eat Drink Lucky.

Caldo de Pollo

Ingredients

Preparation

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