Recipe: Ajiaco (Cuban)

"Ajiaco"
Serves 12

Meat
1 lb. beef stew meat
1/2 lb chicken
3/4 lb chorizo sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/2 lb. dry beef (tasajo)
1 lb. pork meat
7 quarts of water

Vegetables
2 ears of corn
2 green plantains
1 lb. yuca
1 lb. sweet potato
1/2 lb. white root yam
(boniato)
2 green plantains peeled sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 lemons

Sauce
2 tbs. lard
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 green pepper, large
1 can tomato sauce
2 1/2 tbs. salt

Corn Balls
1 lb. tender ground corn
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. milk
2 tbs. lard
2 cloves garlic

Cut tasajo (dry beef) into four pieces and soak overnight. Discard water next morning. Place the tasajo and chicken (cut in half) in a large casserole and boil for one hour. Add the beef round and the pork cut into pieces. If the pork is fatty use the lard for the sauce and the corn balls. Allow to slow boil for another hour. Remove the fat and the foamy substance from the liquid after it has boiled for a while. While meat is cooking, fry the sauce ingredients and peel the vegetables.

When adding plantains follow with lemon juice so that soup does not darken. At the same time add the sauce little by little so that it all cooks together. When adding the plantains, prepare the cornballs to be added at the end. Mix the ground corn with the salt, milk, and lard in which garlic has been fried. Take spoonfuls of this mixture and drop the balls over the vegetables in the broth. Cover and cook over low heat for another hour. Do not stir until corn balls are cooked. To thicken, mash a few pieces of vegetable in a little broth.