Sancocho is a traditional soup for many cuisines, made in different ways depending on which cuisine it originates from. Depending on which version you're making the ingredients will differ, though there are similar components in most of them. It's basically a multiple meat stew that is bound together by starchy tubers, vegetables, and broth. The underlying flavors can be spices or herb forward, you can change the proteins by using use fish, various cuts of meat, and also the vegetables by using different vegetables. It originates from Latin America and Caribbean cuisines, though the Philippines also have their own version of it. This version is most similar to the Puerto Rican version, because the base is started with sofrito.
For this particular version, I went in a traditional beef and chicken direction. I decided to use sofrito, which is diced peppers and onions as the flavor base. Additionally I used butternut squash, corn, sweet potatoes, and plantains as the thickening components. Another step I took to add some depth to the flavor was to grill the chicken and beef, along with some of the vegetables. The end results was a starch thickened liquid, and tender cuts of meat with undertones of garlic and lime.
I decided to break this recipe into four parts. The first two are the meat marinades, and the third are the components which go on the grill. It seemed easier to me this way, than to explain that part of the onions go into the sofrito, and another part in the recipe are for the grill.
Feel free and change up any of the ingredients in this soup, from the main protein to the vegetables. Just make sure to add a lot of starch based ones, as they thicken and flavor the soup to get your final texture.
Enjoy.
Ingredients
Beef Marinade
Beef, Top Round, cubed 3 lbs
Sazon Goya 2 packs
Adobo seasoning 1 T
Garlic, minced 4 cloves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 T
1. Mix all ingredients together and marinate the steak over night.
Chicken Marinade
Chicken Thighs, Boneless, skinless 2 lbs
Tajin 2 T
Lime, zested and juiced 1 ea
Adobo seasoning 1 T
Onion, julienned 1 ea
1. Mix all ingredients together and marinate the chicken over night.
Grilled Components
Marinated beef 3 lbs
Marinated chicken 2 lbs
Corn 3 ea
Onion, wedged to grill 3 ea
1. Grill all the components off or roast them to get color.
Soup
Grilled components all
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 T
Onions, diced 2 ea
Bell peppers, diced* 3 ea
Garlic, diced 1 head
Sazon Goya 2 packs
Butternut squash, diced 1 ea
Sweet potato, peeled and diced 2 ea
Plantains, cubed 3 ea
Limes, juiced and zested 4 ea
Chicken stock 2 qt
Water 2 qt
Cuban oregano** 2 T
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste
*I used a 3 pack of orange, red and yellow for this. Feel free to change up which types you use, but green peppers have more of a raw vegetable flavor
**Cuban oregano is a softer larger leaf. It's similar in flavor to oregano, but looses it's potency if added too soon in the process. If you are using regular oregano, add it earlier in the soup, but use a little less.
Method of Procedure
Once you've grilled off your ingredients, diced your chicken, remove your corn from the cob (saving the cobs), and rough chop your onions, reserving until later.
Start the foundation of the soup by dicing your peppers, onions, and garlic (sofrito).
In your soup pot saute your sofrito with your oil until they start to turn translucent. Once softened add your Sazon Goya and mix well.
Add your grilled meats and vegetables to the base and cook while stirring to mix everything together.
Add your limes, sweet potatoes, squash, stock, and water and bring to a quick boil. Reduce to a simmer, add your cobs, and cook until the squash and potatoes are softened.
Add your plantains, remove your cobs, season the soup to taste, then continue to cook until thickened.
Finish with your Cuban oregano*
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