Sancocho is a Colombian soup that is not only great for quelling an appetite, but also for nurishing the soul.
"We would have this every Saturday when the whole family goes to my grandmother's house," explains Juan while ladeling two bowls of sancocho. "This soup is about good-feeling and fraternaty, not just any old bowl of broth."
Sancocho is a down to earth, meat and potato soup that is one of the most famous regional dishes of Antioquia in North Western Colombia and one of Anthony Bourdain's favorite dishes while he was traveling here.
"You can use any kind of meat you'd like: pork, beef, liver, anything," continues Juan, a fiercely proud Antioquian and avid cook. "This is my grandmother's recipe for Sacocho de Pollo, Chicken Sacocho."
What follows is less a recipe and more a list of ingredients. All of the components and amounts of your sancocho are a personal preference and availability, so this recipe should be viewed as more of one option rather than the one sancocho.
Potatoes
This is a perfect recipe to honor 2008 as the year of the potato.
In the original recipe, there are three types of potatoes used: capire, blanca, and criolla. These three types of potatoes are found throughout Colombia, but may be more difficult to find at your local super grocers. The International Potato Center has samples of about 3900 varieties of potatoes, so if you cannot find these three types, you can use any combination of these (except sweet potatoes). The options are almost endless.
Rembmer, the best way to eat sancocho is with a group of friends and family with some lively salsa music playing in the background. As such, make a lot!
Sancocho de Pollo (serves 8)Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds of chicken, quartered
- 1 pound yuca, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
- 2 pounds of potatoes, chopped into 2 inch pieces
- 2 green plantains, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 pound of arracacha (an Andean tuber you can find in your local Latin market) peeled and
- chopped into 2 inch pieces
- 2 carrots, chopped into 2 inch pieces
- 1 large onion diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Slices of avacado
- A bunch of freshly chopped cilantro for garnish
Procedure:
- In a large pot, boil the meat for 20 minutes.
- Add the vegetables and salt the water with about a Tablespoon of salt. Bring soup to a boil, and then turn down the heat and let simmer for another hour.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Serve with slices of avacado, tajadas (fried green plantains), and diced cilantro.
Another recipe from this region is bandeja paisa.
