Buen Provecho! A Saturday with Mel

This Saturday I went visiting. One of my dearest friends has had a baby, and though I made a trip to the hospital after little Myles was born, it was time to see him (and Mel) at home. Mom and baby (and Daddy and big brother Ethan) are doing wonderfully. He is the cutest little thing, but I think I went visiting way too early because all he wanted to do was sleep and  eat. Mel fed me as well, of course. I texted her on Friday and said "I know you're making Sancocho, right". She'd LOL'd a bit and said "sure, now I am" and bless her nursing heart she made me Sancocho in between baby Myles' two hour feedings, beast that she is.

Every Latin household has a 1 pot version of stew. They get different names depending on the protein added. Mondongo or Menudo if the main protein is Beef Tripe. Sancocho if the protein are roast cuts of beef, or pork, sometimes both. Sometimes both and chicken, sort of everything but the kitchen sink. What makes Sancocho distinct isn't really the protein but the root vegetables added to the soup. Some families add every African-Caribbean Tuber you can think of, from Batatas to Malanga, but Sancocho must always have plantains and yuca. Try the recipe, add which ever root vegetables you like and make this stew your own. Make sure you serve in deep bowls with a wedge of lime and Buen Provecho





Mel's Sancocho 
6 quart stock pot
1.5 lbs- beef for stew
1lb- Salchichon (Caribbean Farmer's Salami)
½lb- Mild Chorizo
1 large Vidalia Onion
2lbs- Yuca (Yucca, Frozen or Fresh)
1 large Green Plantain, grated
2-3 Cobs of Corn, cut into equal sized pieces.
1 Tbsp grated garlic
2 cups diced Carrots
1 cup diced Celery
3 leaves of Recao or 6 sprigs of Cilantro
2 Tbsp-Goya Adobo, seperated* (Seasoning Salt, you can use Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper and a tiny bit of Turmeric if you can't find Adobo).

 

1. Season beef with 1-tbsp of Adobo. Peel onion and cut off top, leaving root stem in place. Place beef and onion in pot with 4 cups of water and braise covered on Medium heat for 30 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
2. Slice the Salchichon into ¼ inch half-moons. Slice the Chorizo into ¼ disks. Set aside.
3. Grate the plantain using a box grater or a food processor using the grate disk. Mix the grated plantain, the remaining adobo and the garlic. Set aside.
4. Rinse the Recao (Culantro, saw tooth coriander leaf, Tabasco Leaf) or Cilantro.
5. Add 5 quarts water to pot. Raise heat to high bring to boil, boil 2minutes. Discard Onion. Add Recao leaves or Cilantro sprigs. Lower heat to Medium and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Add Yuca, Corn, Chorizo, and Salchichon to pot, simmer for another 20 minutes
7. Add Carrots and Celery to pot, stir in plantain-garlic mixture. Continue to stir for 2 minutes, lower heat to low-medium and simmer for 15-30 minutes. You want the broth to have a nice stew consistency, and this will happen as the starches in the plantain and yuca slowly release.
8. Serve in deep bowls with a wedge of Lime and Buen Provecho!