Beef ribs and potato cooked in water, finished with scallion and cilantro blended together and stirred in at the last moment. It is a breakfast dish in Colombia, and it has a second reputation that everyone there will tell you about.
The blended finish is the whole dish
Five of the six scallions are chopped into the pot and cooked. The sixth is blended raw with the cilantro and a little water, and that goes in off the heat, right before serving.
This is what separates a caldo de costilla from any other beef soup. The cooked scallion gives the broth its base; the raw blended one gives it a sharp green aroma that would be destroyed by even a minute of boiling.
The original recipe had this step but the sentence was cut off halfway, taking the instruction with it.
Bones over meat
Ribs with plenty of bone give a better broth than meaty ones. The collagen in the bone and the connective tissue dissolves into the water and gives the broth its body, which is the point: this is a broth first and a meat dish second.
A pressure cooker does in twenty minutes what an ordinary pot does in an hour and a half, and Colombian kitchens use one as a matter of course.
Which potato
A floury potato breaks down at the edges and thickens the broth slightly. A waxy one stays in neat pieces. Both are used and it depends what you want.
If you can find them, small yellow papa criolla is the traditional choice and dissolves almost entirely, giving the broth its colour.
The levantamuertos
Caldo de costilla is Colombia's standard prescription for the morning after a heavy night, to the point where it has a nickname: levantamuertos, which means something like the thing that raises the dead.
Whether it does anything for a hangover is another question. What is true is that it is hot, salty and easy on the stomach, which is what anyone in that condition actually wants.
How it is served
With an arepa on the side and a cup of hot chocolate, at breakfast, often quite early. Not as a starter and not at dinner.
More soups
- Sancocho — the Sunday soup.
- Changua — the other Bogotá breakfast soup.
- Mondongo — tripe, and a whole day.
- Cuchuco — cracked corn and pork.
Caldo de Costilla FAQ
A Colombian beef rib broth with potato, eaten at breakfast. It is finished with raw scallion and cilantro blended together and stirred in off the heat, which is what distinguishes it from an ordinary beef soup.
Because blended raw and added off the heat, they keep their aroma. Boiled even briefly, cilantro turns dull and grey and loses most of what it contributes. Five scallions are cooked in the pot for the base and one is blended for the finish.
It has that reputation across Colombia, where it is nicknamed levantamuertos, the thing that raises the dead. Whether it does anything specific for a hangover is not established. It is hot, salty and gentle on the stomach, which is a reasonable amount of what helps.
Ones with plenty of bone rather than the meatiest available. The bone and connective tissue dissolve into the water and give the broth its body, and this is a broth first and a meat dish second.
Yes, it just takes about an hour and a half instead of twenty minutes. Simmer the ribs gently until they are tender, then add the potato and the rest and carry on as written.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs beef ribs (with plenty of bone: that is where the broth comes from)
- 4 potatoes, or 5 (a floury variety breaks down and thickens the broth)
- 8 cups water
- 6 green onions (5 chopped into the pot, 1 blended with the cilantro at the end)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 carrot (diced)
- Cumin, to taste
- Cilantro (blended raw at the end, not boiled)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Notas
Instructions
- Put the water, the ribs, salt, pepper and cumin into a pressure cooker. Cook on high for about 20 minutes, to soften the ribs.
- While that is happening, peel and slice the potatoes, finely chop 5 of the green onions and the garlic, and dice the carrot.
- After 20 minutes, open the pressure cooker, add everything from the previous step, and check the water and the salt. Cook again until the potato is tender.
- Blend the remaining green onion with the cilantro and a quarter cup of water. Once the soup is ready, stir this in off the heat and serve hot, with an arepa on the side.
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