Caribbean Style Sancocho Recipes

Steps:

• Peel and cut the yuca, yautia, green plantain and yellow plantain into 1-inch pieces. Scrape out the seeds, then chop the calabaza, skin on, into 1-inch pieces. Put each ingredient in a separate bowl, adding water to cover vegetables in order to prevent them from turning brown while you prepare the rest of the soup.
• Husk the corn, then slice it into 2-inch-thick segments. Set aside.
• Season pork (or beef) and chicken with 1/2 tablespoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add the pork and brown on all sides for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a clean, large bowl, then add the chicken to the same pot, and brown on both sides for another 5 minutes, adding oil as needed if the pot gets dry. Transfer with a slotted spoon to the same bowl as the pork.
• Reduce heat to medium and add sofrito to the pot, scraping up any browned bits of meat and incorporating them into the mix. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until liquid has evaporated and mixture darkens in color.
• Return the pork, chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot. Add the stock, bay leaves and remaining 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To keep the vegetables from falling apart, add each one in order of firmness, cooking each for 5 minutes before adding the next. Begin with the yuca, then yautia, green plantain, yellow plantain, calabaza and corn, cooking the yuca for a total of 30 minutes and the corn for only 5 minutes.
• Add chorizo and stir well to incorporate. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes over medium-low heat until meat and vegetables are tender and break easily with a fork. Because of all the starches and meat in this dish, this stew tends to be thick and rich. Some of the vegetables will fall apart, giving it a porridge consistency. This is a good thing.
• Adjust salt to taste, and serve with fresh bread or white rice on the side.

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat; add onion, garlic, cilantro, white pepper, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is browned and very tender, about 20 minutes. Add stew meat; cook and stir until meat is browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Pour enough water over meat mixture to fill pot 3/4 full; add tomato sauce and beef bouillon.
• Mix green beans, carrots, celery, chayote squash, white beans, cabbage, green banana, yellow plantain, llautias, potatoes, pumpkin, corn, and green bell pepper (in this order), cooking and stirring after each addition. Cook until all the vegetables are tender and stew has formed a rich broth, 2 to 3 hours. Add more water or salt if needed.

Steps:

• In a blender, puree the garlic, carrots, peppers, onion, chile, and 1 cup cilantro.
• In a large pot, combine the puree with the water, bouillon cubes, and cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add the chicken and simmer for another 20 minutes.
• Add the yucca and green plantain and simmer for 10 minutes more. Add the potatoes, ripe plantain, and corn and simmer for another 15 minutes.
• In a blender, combine the remaining 1 cup cilantro and a little of the stew broth and puree. Stir the puree into the soup, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Steps:

• To make the recaito, process the onion, bell pepper, frying pepper, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a blender until it resembles a very chunky sauce. Add the cilantro and blend until the sauce is combined and has a slightly chunky consistency, about 30 seconds. Set aside 1/2 cup of the recaito you've just made and freeze the rest for future preparations.
• Add the remaining olive oil to a very large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Dry the oxtails and add salt and pepper. Brown the oxtails in batches, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside on a plate or platter.
• Remove excess fat from the pot you browned the oxtails in, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pot. Add the reserved 1/2 cup recaito and saute until fragrant. Add the adobo, oregano and bay leaves, then stir in the tomato sauce and saute for 1 minute. Add the red wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper to taste, remembering that as the broth reduces it will become saltier; don't go overboard. Add the oxtails back to the pot. Lower the heat and cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly cracked. Simmer until the meat is beginning to become tender and fall apart, about 2 hours.
• Skim the fat off the top of the stew. Add the potatoes, yucca, plantains, pumpkin and corn. Top with more chicken stock, if necessary, to cover all the vegetables. Put the lid back on and simmer until the root vegetables are tender, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Taste the broth, season with salt and pepper and garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with a side of rice if desired.

Steps:

• Wash and Cut up the chicken pieces into large bite size pieces. If you usually sear chicken before putting it in water to cook, then do so. Otherwise just put the chicken in a saucepan of water and bring it to a boil, and then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 1/2 hour while you peel and cut the roots.
• Peel and cut the malanga, yucca, plantain, chayote, and potato into large bite sized pieces. Peel and cut the calabaza or pumpkin type squash into 2 or 3x1" lengths. Cut the corn on the cob into 4 pieces each. Cut and chop garlic and onion. Cut celery into 1/2" slices crosswise. Celery leaves are optional.
• Skim off the stuff from the chicken broth. Then transfer chicken and broth to a large pot. Slice the chorizo crosswise into 1/2" rounds. Add the chorizo and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium.
• Add the larger roots and veggies, more water to cover, and then the smaller onion, garlic and celery, and then the seasonings. Bring to a boil and then lower to simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Continue to simmer until the potatoes test done by putting a fork through.
• Turn the heat off and serve,, one piece of corn cob with each serving.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium to low heat; add garlic, meat, and onions, cooking until meat is well browned and onions start to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the green pepper, celery, aji dulce (if using), cilantro, salt, pepper, and beef stock; cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 hour (if using chicken you will not need to cook this long).
• Add remaining ingredients and continue to cook until meat is tender and vegetables are soft, an additional 30 minutes.
• NOTE: You may find the corn difficult to cut into rounds. What I do is cook it first either by boiling or in the microwave. This softens the cob so it is easier to cut. I add the corn at serving.

Steps:

• Cook longaniza (if using) with 1/2 cup water in a 12-inch heavy skillet, covered, over medium heat, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides and water has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces, then transfer to an 8-quart pot.
• Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, then transfer to pot with a slotted spoon, reserving fat in skillet.
• Meanwhile, cut meat from beef shank into 1 1/2-inch pieces, reserving bone. Pat beef, pork, and chicken dry, putting them in separate bowls. Toss meat in each bowl with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Heat fat in skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then add beef and bone in 1 layer and brown, turning occasionally, about 7 minutes. Transfer to pot with slotted spoon. Brown pork and chicken in separate batches in same manner, transferring to pot.
• Add onion, peppers, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to skillet and sauté until softened. Add 1 cup water and boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Transfer vegetable mixture to pot. Add cilantro stems, oregano, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 3 quarts water to pot and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, then simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• While meat simmers, cut ends from plantains with a sharp small knife, then cut a lengthwise slit through peel. Beginning at slit, pry off peel, then cut plantains crosswise into 1-inch-thick pieces.
• Trim ends from yuca and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces, then peel, removing waxy brown skin and pinkish layer underneath. Quarter lengthwise and cut out coarse center fiber.
• Peel ñame and yautía, then cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces and keep in a bowl of cold water.
• Seed and peel calabaza, then cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
• Add plantain and yuca to tender meat in pot and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Drain ñame and yautía and add to pot along with calabaza, then simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Remove and discard beef and chicken bones.
• Add corn and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender and all root vegetables are very tender (yuca should be translucent), 10 to 15 minutes. Sancocho broth should be slightly thickened from root vegetables; thin with additional water if necessary. Stir in juice and reheat, then season with salt and pepper.