One of my staff members is from Chile, and if it were not that once or twice a day that he mentions my soup being “a Carbonada,” I wouldn’t of taken any notice. His nationalist labeling of virtually every dish I make as distinctly Chilean rings a bit funny, having never been to Chile, or even tried that country’s cuisine. So tonight I decided to make my own rendition of his description of a Carbonada. It’s a hardy soup, chock-full of vegetables, including potatoes, beans, squash and corn. There is some meat in it too, but I had only a smoked ham hock. It provided a good flavor to the red Colombian beans I had in my pantry.

So here it is, Carbonada alla Chilena for Toti!

Sopa Chilena