his comforting soup is Colombia’s national dish, ajiaco. The avocado should ideally be one of the smooth-skinned varieties, which are less creamy than the dark, knobbly skinned Hass, but any will work, and the chilli salsa is optional. Traditionally, ajiaco is made with three kinds of potato (the South Americans love their spuds even more than us), including the criolla, which disintegrates to thicken the broth, along with a local herb called guascas, a member of the daisy family. I’ve adapted it for British ingredients, with a slightly different flavour but the same soothing qualities. Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 3 hours SERVES four INGREDIENTS 4 chicken legs or thighs 300g new potatoes, cut into 2cm cubes 300g floury potatoes such as King Edward, thinly sliced 300g red potatoes, such as Désirée, thinly sliced 2 cobs of sweetcorn, halved widthways 4 garlic cloves, sliced 30g bunch of fresh coriander 2 sprigs of sage 500ml chicken stock For the aji salsa 1 red chilli, finely diced 1 tbsp finely chopped shallot 2 tbsp cider or white wine vinegar For the toppings 2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced Sour cream or crème fraîche 4 tbsp capers in vinegar, drained Torn fresh coriander METHOD Put the chicken, potatoes, sweetcorn, garlic, bunch of coriander (including the stalks), sage and stock in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for three hours on high.  Scoop out the coriander, sage and a cupful of the liquid and potato. Blend with a hand blender or in a liquidiser (allow to cool a little before using a liquidiser). Stir this into the soup. Adjust the consistency, adding a little water if necessary, then season. Mix together the aji salsa ingredients and season with salt.  Serve the soup with skewers to hold the corn and the toppings in bowls on the side.