How to make Sancocho -Puerto Rican Beef Stew

Sancocho is a very popular Puerto Rican beef stew. The name "Sancocho" actually means "stew". This is a very hearty dish which is made up of large chunks of beef and a variety of starchy vegetables. There are many variations of this dish and it is made in the Canary Islands of Spain, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Argentina, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and, of course, Puerto Rico. In the Canary Islands of Spain, Sancocho is usually made with fish and the fish is usually cooked whole.

The Sancocho In Latin America and in particular, Puerto Rico, evolved from a dish called "Puchero Canario" and "Sancocho" and was brought with the Canary Islanders who emigrated to Latin America. The dish has been made in Puerto Rico for at least 400 years. When the Spaniards brought African slaves to the Island, the slaves would make a very big pot of stew and let it cook all day so they could have a hearty meal to eat after a long day of work.

This tradition was carried on by the poor 'jibaros' (farmers), and is one of the most commonly made dishes by Puerto Ricans today. The wonderful aroma of this stew cooking will bring everyone to the kitchen for this "stick to your ribs" meal!

In Puerto Rico, Sancocho is made with chicken, beef, beef short ribs, pork or fish. Chick peas are usually added, but I omit them from the version below. There are many versions of this stew but the Puerto Rican version calls for cayote or calabaza and the sofrito (more about the sofrito later) should be diced, not mashed or blended.

The first thing you have to make is the "sofrito". This is the foundation of many Puerto Rican dishes. You can't cook Puerto Rican food without it. You can actually buy sofrito ready-made but you cannot compare it to homemade. So here are the ingredients necessary to make sofrito. I make a bunch of it and then freeze it in little plastic containers for future use in other meals. Then when I need it I don't have to worry about finding one of the main ingredients, culantro, at the store. Culantro and Cilantro are very similar and are wonderful when cooked together. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find culantro, depending on where you live, so I just use cilantro in its place. If you buy cilantro, be careful not to buy parsley, as they look almost exactly the same. The amounts listed below are just enough to make sofrito for one meal only.

1. 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2. 10 sprigs cilantro - chopped
3. 10 leaves culantro (recao) - chopped
4. 5 aji dulces (or other little sweet peppers)
5. 1 large onion - diced
6. 3 cloves garlic - crushed or sliced very thin
7. 1/2 green pepper - diced
8. 1/2 sweet red pepper - diced
9. 1/2 tsp. salt

These are the only ingredients you need to make a good sofrito. If you decide to make a large amount, just blend all ingredients in a blender and freeze it in 1-cup freezer containers. They do keep very well in the freezer.

Saute the above ingredients in 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil. Cover it and cook on low heat until the onions are soft and transparent and everything is soft. Now you are ready to add in the other ingredients.

These are the remainder of the ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup red wine
2. 1 can peeled diced tomatoes
3. 1 can tomato sauce
4. 1 tsp. oregano
5. 1 bay leaf
6. 1 tsp. salt
7. 1/4 cup olives and capers - chopped
8. 1 lb. beef stew chunks (with or without bones)
9. 1 thick piece of ham (about 8 oz.) - cut into 1-inch pieces
10. 32 oz. chicken broth (99% fat free)
11. 6 cups water
12. 1 green plantain - peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
13. 1 yaotia - peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
14. 1 piece calabaza (pumpkin) - peed and cut into 2-inch pieces
15. 1 corn-on-the cob - cut into 1-inch slices
16. Black pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a big pot, heat the olive oil and saute the sofrito. When it simmers add the red wine. Stir, as the alcohol evaporates. Then add the canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, olives and capers, oregano, bay leaf and salt. Stir and cook covered on low heat about 10 minutes.

Add the meats to the tomato mixture. Stir and add the chicken broth and water. Cover and cook about 45 minutes or until. Do not overcook. While the meats are cooking you can peel and cut the vegetables.

In a separate pot, boil 5 or 6 cups of water and then add all the vegetables. Add 1 tsp. salt. Cook about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are almost done. You don't want the vegetables to get mushy.

Now add the vegetables to the meat mixture, including the water. Stir and cook about 5 to 10 minutes. Everything should be cooked now, and there should be plenty of sauce in the stew.

Many people add all the vegetables to the meat and cook them together. I don't like to do that because it's too easy to overcook and mush-up the vegetables. Also, you don't want the meat to be overcooked and get mushy either.

* You may have difficulty finding calabaza depending on where you live. I have found it in stores which sell hispanic products. You may also find it frozen, in chunks. You can experiment and use a piece of pumpkin and see how that tastes.

That's it. This is such a hearty stew that you really can just eat it by itself. Some people like to have a crusty piece of bread with it. Either way, this Sancocho is really delicious!

Buen provecho! (Enjoy!)