Gluten freeSancocho dominicano
Meat and root vegetable stew
Sancocho: the Dominican Republic's thick celebration stew of several meats, root vegetables and plantain
Sancocho is the dish Dominicans make for a crowd: birthdays, New Year's Eve, rainy Sundays and the morning after a party, from Santo Domingo to Washington Heights. Several meats (here beef, pork ribs and chicken; the festive sancocho de siete carnes uses seven) simmer with oregano, garlic and coriander, then cassava, yautía, green plantain, yam, squash and corn cook down until the broth turns thick and golden. This recipe contains pork. The common mistake is adding all the vegetables at once, so the squash melts while the plantain stays hard; add them in order of firmness. Cassava must always be peeled, cored and cooked until completely soft, never eaten raw. It is done when the meats are tender, the chicken has reached 74 °C and the pork 71 °C, and the broth coats a spoon. Serve with white rice and avocado. Chef's tip: let some of the squash dissolve completely; it is what thickens a real sancocho.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 8
- Per serving
- 520 kcal
Ingredients
For the meats
- 1 ⅛ lb beef chuckin 3 cm chunks
- 1 ⅛ lb pork ribscut into short pieces
- 1 ⅓ lb chicken thighsbone in, skinned
- 1 limejuiced
- 6 cloves garliccrushed
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp salt
- ⅔ oz fresh corianderchopped
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 1 green pepperchopped
For the stew
- 3 litres water
- 14 oz cassava (yuca)peeled, woody core removed, in chunks
- 10 ½ oz yautía (malanga) or taropeeled, in chunks
- 2 green plantainpeeled, in 3 cm pieces
- 10 ½ oz yam or sweet potatopeeled, in chunks
- 14 oz calabaza or butternut squashpeeled, in chunks
- 2 corn on the cobcut into rounds
- 1 chicken stock cube (optional)optional
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Search Amazon for the rest
Fresh ingredients (11)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Toss 1 ⅛ lb beef chuck, 1 ⅛ lb pork ribs and 1 ⅓ lb chicken thighs with 1 lime, 6 cloves garlic, 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp salt and half the ⅔ oz fresh coriander. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 2: Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a very large pot over a medium-high heat. Brown the beef and pork for 8 minutes, then add 1 onion and 1 green pepper and cook for 3 minutes.
11 minStep 3: Add 500 ml of 3 litres water, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 4: Add the chicken and the rest of the water (and the stock cube if using). Bring to the boil and add 14 oz cassava (yuca), 10 ½ oz yautía (malanga) or taro and half the 14 oz calabaza or butternut squash. Simmer, partly covered, for 25 minutes.
25 minStep 5: Add 2 green plantain, 10 ½ oz yam or sweet potato, 2 corn on the cob and the rest of the squash. Simmer for 30–35 minutes, stirring now and then, until every vegetable is soft, the cassava is completely tender and translucent, and the first batch of squash has melted into the broth.
35 minStep 6: Check the meat: the beef should be tender, the chicken at 165°F and the pork at 160°F. If the broth is thin, mash a few pieces of squash and cassava against the side of the pot. Taste for salt, stir in the rest of the coriander and serve hot.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sancocho dominicano take?
- About 160 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of lime?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
Japanese