Recipe(tried): Sancocho (Assorted Root-Vegetable Soup)

SANCOCHO

This is a stew-soup which is Typical of Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico, with a few variations from country to Country. This is a dish for cold weather and always for company. It is served with garlic bread and white rice as an accompaniment. The Caribe and Taino Indians were very fond of it. I will include a simple version because perhaps it might be too overpowering for foreign palates. Please, use a big soup Pot.

SANCOCHO
(Assorted Root-Vegetable Soup)

2 pounds beef, cut as for stew
1 pound pork, cut as for stew
1/2 pound smoked ham diced
1/2 cup basic Sofrito ( chopped tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers, peeled garlic cloves, cilantro or chinese parsley, chopped or processed. You can add olives and pimentos).This Sofrito can be used for other dishes.
1/4 cup tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes
1 pound each calabaza (Pumpkin), yaut a (taro root), malanga, ame(yam) and cassava (yuca), peeled and diced in cubes
1 green plantain and 4 green bananas, peeled and cut in 2 inch rounds
3 corn ears, cut into 2 inch rounds
2 chicken cubes
1 beef cube
Salt and pepper to taste
Bijol, a teaspoon, for color Bija is derived from the achiote plant. Can be bought at Latin Markets.

In a big soup pot, combine 6 quarts of chicken or beef stock, or water with the beef, pork and ham, the Sofrito and the Tomato Sauce, and you can add 1/2 a beer. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender. (This Sancocho can be prepared with chicken, but then, the procedure is very short because you can boil the chicken with the vegetables and tubers, at the same time.)Add the remaining ingredients and bring to another boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or until the vegetables and tubers are cooked and the soup is thick.

This might sound complicated, but is a very simple dish that goes very well with the new healthy tendencies. The white rice is very simple to cook. To serve, you should use a soup dish, put some rice in the bottom and then the soup with meats and vegetables on top. Garlic Bread can be bought at the supermarket. If you are expecting too much company, you might add a green salad. Somewhere I read that a Sancocho is like a melange, like a Symphony. Enjoy.