The sancocho is a stew that is traditional and very representative of the Dominican Republic. It's made with many meats and starchy tubers vegetables and is prepared almost always on special occasions, holidays or on rainy and cold days in the island. Its origin appears to be between the taíno ajiaco and the Spanish stew. Colombia, Ecuador and Puerto Rico also have sancocho in their cuisines that are very similar to ours.
Sancocho Recipe
Ingredients:
Meats:
1 hen or a chicken
2 pounds of beef
2 pounds of pork meat
2 pounds pork chops (can be smoked)
2 pounds of sausage
sazón for seasoning meats
2-3 sour oranges or lemon juice to clean and season
Tubers vegetables:
5 rulos or 5 green bananas
4 plantains
3 corn on cob chopped in two to three inches wheels
3 medium-sized potatoes
2 medium yucas
2 carrots
2 pounds of malanga (yautias)
2 pounds of auyama (squash/pumpkin)
2 pounds yams (ñame)
1 Sweet Potato (batata)
Sancocho stock:
2 teaspoons of oregano
2 onions processed in blender
1 ½ Tablespoons mashed garlic
1 bunch of coriander (cilantro)
4 wide coriander (culantro) leaves
2 chicken cubes
2 green peppers cut in half
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1 sour orange
2 tablespoons vinegar
6 liter of water
Preparation:
The meats:
1. Cut and wash the meat with sour orange or lemon juice. Season with oregano, garlic, onion, salt and pepper to taste or with dominican seasoning and let marinate at least 30 minutes.
3. Cook the remaining meats separately and in the same way as the chicken, striving to keep each one with enough broth. Reserve. If you use smoked pork chop, season with a bit of sour orange and ground oregano and fry. There is no need to season the sausage, just chop into 2-3 inch pieces and also fry. Reserve.
4. Peel all vegetables and cut into medium-sized pieces. Note: I cut the plantains and into diagonal pieces and the rulos or green bananas in two to make it easier to identify at the time of serving. Leave the vegetables in water with salt to avoid them from darkening until the stock boils to add them into the pot.
5. In large pot or two medium-sized pots place 5 quarts of water, add salt to taste and reserve the other liter of water to add later if needed. Once water begins to boil add the two chicken or beef bouillons, plantains, yautias, corn, onion blended with a bit of water, green pepper, half of the auyama, cilantro and culantro. When the plantains, yautias, have tenderized a little, add the remaining vegetables and the meats with its broth, reserving the sausage and other half of pumpkin (auyama) for later.
Yield: Makes approximately 15 servings
a) If you like, you can cook the meat the day before and store them in the refrigerator. This will save you time and make preparing this dish a lot easier.
b) If some tubers vegetables become tender too fast, you can remove them from the pot and set aside until the sancocho is almost done. You can then return them to broth to heat minutes before removing from fire.
c) If you have left over sancocho and you would like to warm it up later or the following day but find that it has thickened a lot, boil some water with a little salt in separate pot and then add the necessary amount to the pot of stew. Cook until heated completely and has your preferred consistency.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.~ Jeremiah 29:11-13
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