Puerto Rican Sancocho

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Description

This is my mom’s Puerto Rican comfort soup. The mix of vegetables and herbs is an influence of the Spanish Canary Island ancestors of some Puerto Rican families. The soup was adjusted to the vegetables available in Puerto Rico by the addition of corn and pumpkin. In the Canary Islands of the 1700s, corn was only fed to farm animals! In Puerto Rico, some cooks now add ginger root, chile pepper, cumin, and other ingredients but I believe it destroys the original rich natural vegetable taste. Similar Spanish sancocho recipes were passed on to other Spanish colonies such as Columbia. Serve hot with bread to soak up the delicious flavor.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1 pinch dried oregano
  • salt to taste
  • 1 ½ pounds beef stew meat, cut into small pieces
  • water to cover
  • ½ (6.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 2 cubes beef bouillon
  • 1 cup 1 1/2-inch cut fresh green beans
  • 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • ⅓ cup chopped celery
  • 1 large chayote squash – peeled, cored, and sliced lengthwise
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can small white beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ head cabbage, chopped
  • 1 green banana, peeled and sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
  • 1 yellow plantain, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 5 large llautias (yautias), peeled and quartered
  • 6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • ½ cup chopped peeled pumpkin
  • 2 ears fresh corn, sliced into 6 pieces each
  • ⅓ cup chopped green bell pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion
  2. garlic
  3. cilantro
  4. white pepper
  5. oregano
  6. and salt. Cook and stir until onion is browned and very tender
  7. about 20 minutes. Add stew meat; cook and stir until meat is browned on all sides
  8. 5 to 7 minutes.
  9. Pour enough water over meat mixture to fill the pot 3/4 full. Add tomato sauce and beef bouillon.
  10. Stir in the remaining ingredients
  11. one at a time
  12. cooking slightly after each addition in the following order: green beans
  13. carrots
  14. celery
  15. chayote squash
  16. white beans
  17. cabbage
  18. green banana
  19. yellow plantain
  20. llautias
  21. potatoes
  22. pumpkin
  23. corn
  24. and green bell pepper.
  25. Cook until all the vegetables are tender and stew has formed a rich broth
  26. 2 to 3 hours. Add more water or salt if needed.

Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 2 hrs 20 mins

Total Time: 3 hrs

Servings: 12

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