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January 2026 Food Festival: Hogao (Colombian Creole Sauce)

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Each month, our Food Festival series celebrates a single ingredient or dish through a chef-driven recipe, practical tips, and serving inspiration rooted in real kitchens.

For January, we’re sharing Chef Tatiana Iglesias’ turning to hogao, a traditional Colombian creole sauce made with tomatoes, onions, scallions, and spices. Often described as a “mother sauce,” hogao forms the base of countless dishes — spooned over arepas, stirred into beans, and used as the starting point for soups and stews.

This version comes from Tatiana Iglesias, Venue Manager & Chef and a frequent contributor to our Chefs’ Choir(SM) series. For Tatiana, hogao is something she always keeps on hand — cooked slowly, stored in jars or the freezer, and used whenever it’s needed. It’s everyday cooking, deeply rooted in memory and tradition.

Want more seasonal ideas? Explore the full Food Festival series here.

Dish Spotlight: Hogao

Hogao is a foundational sauce in Colombian cooking, with roots that stretch back to indigenous culinary traditions. Over time, Spanish influences — including garlic and scallions — were incorporated, and the sauce evolved alongside the cuisine itself.

Today, hogao is less about a single recipe and more about how it’s used. It’s a base, a topping, and a building block. Many Colombian households make it in batches, keeping it ready to use throughout the week — or longer.

Simple in ingredients but rich in purpose, hogao is defined by patience. The onions and tomatoes are cooked slowly, allowing their flavors to soften and deepen. The result is a sauce that’s adaptable, comforting, and essential.

Recipe: Hogao (Colombian Creole Sauce)

by Chef Tatiana Iglesias

Ingredients
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 c chopped scallions
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 c diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp salt
Procedure
  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the tomatoes, scallions, garlic, ground cumin. Cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring until softened.
  2. Reduce the heat to low, add the salt, and cook for 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened.
  3. Check and adjust seasoning!

Tips from Chef Tatiana

  • Take your time. Hogao isn’t meant to be rushed. Cooking slowly allows the ingredients to soften fully and develop depth.

  • Respect the ingredients. Let the tomatoes and onions do the work — avoid overcomplicating the process.

  • Make extra. Hogao keeps well in the refrigerator and can be frozen, making it easy to have on hand for everyday cooking.

  • Use it as a base. Think beyond topping — hogao is often the starting point for soups, stews, and beans.

How to Use It: Serving Suggestions

  • Spoon hogao generously over arepas — no additional toppings needed.

  • Stir it into beans, lentils, or stews for added depth.

  • Use it as a base for soups or braised dishes.

  • Serve alongside grilled or roasted vegetables as a simple finishing sauce.

From Our Farm to Your Table: Meet Katchkie Farm and Our CSA

At Great Performances, our cooking is shaped by seasonality and long-term relationships with growers. Through our Katchkie Farm CSA, we stay connected to the rhythms of planting, harvest, and preservation — the same mindset that makes sauces like hogao so essential.

Building flavor over time, cooking in batches, and keeping staples on hand are all part of cooking with intention — whether at home or at scale.

Want a deeper connection to your food? Learn more about our CSA and Katchkie Farm →

Keep Cooking with Us

Read more about Tatiana’s connection to hogao in Tatiana Iglesias on Hogao and the Smell of Home, part of our Chefs’ Choir(SM) series.

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