Puerto Rican Sancocho

This is my mom's sancocho recipe. The mix of vegetables and herbs in this Puerto Rican comfort stew was influenced by Spanish Canary Island ancestors of some Puerto Rican families. The soup was adjusted to the vegetables available in Puerto Rico by the addition of corn and pumpkin. In the Canary Islands of the 1700s, corn was only fed to farm animals! In Puerto Rico, some cooks now add ginger root, chile pepper, cumin, and other ingredients, but I believe it destroys the original rich, natural vegetable taste. Similar sancocho recipes were passed on to other Spanish colonies such as Columbia. Serve hot with bread to soak up the delicious flavor.

• Preparation Time: 40 mins
• Cooking Time: 2 hr
• Total Time: 2 hr 40 mins
• Calories: 424 Calories

Ingredients

• salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cubes beef bouillon
• 1 pinch dried oregano
• ⅓ cup chopped celery
• ⅓ cup chopped green bell pepper
• ½ head cabbage, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 quarts water, or as needed
• 1 ½ pounds beef stew meat, cut into small pieces
• ½ (6.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup chopped fresh green beans, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large chayote squash - peeled, cored, and sliced lengthwise
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can small white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 green banana, peeled and sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 yellow plantain, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 large llautias (yautias), peeled and quartered
• 6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• ½ cup chopped peeled pumpkin
• 2 ears fresh corn, sliced into 6 pieces each

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic, cilantro, white pepper, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is browned and very tender, about 20 minutes. Add stew meat; cook and stir until meat is browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 2

Pour enough water over meat mixture to fill the pot 3/4 full. Add tomato sauce and beef bouillon.

Step 3

Stir in the remaining ingredients, one at a time, cooking slightly after each addition in the following order: green beans, carrots, celery, chayote squash, white beans, cabbage, green banana, yellow plantain, llautias, potatoes, pumpkin, corn, and green bell pepper.

Step 4

Cook until all the vegetables are tender and stew has formed a rich broth, 2 to 3 hours. Add more water or salt if needed.