Sancocho de Gallina
Colombia's celebration soup: a stewing hen slow-cooked with cassava, plantain, corn, potato and sweet potato in an onion-tomato-ají sofrito broth.
Overview
A whole hen (or chicken thighs and drumsticks if you can't get a stewing bird) simmers with aromatics for 90 minutes until tender. Cassava and plantain join for 30 minutes. Potato, sweet potato and corn-on-the-cob for the last 20. Coriander folds in. Served in deep bowls with rice on the side; the broth is poured over the rice, the meat eaten alongside.
Ingredients
- 1.4 kg whole stewing chicken (jointed) or 1 kg bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 2 ½ litres water
- 1 onion (large, halved)
- 1 small bunch fresh coriander (stems for the boil; leaves for the finish)
- 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 onions (medium, 1 added later, chopped)
- 2 fresh tomatoes (grated)
- 1 tablespoon ground annatto (achiote)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 800 g yuca (peeled, cut into 5 cm chunks)
- 2 green plantains (large, peeled, cut into 5 cm chunks)
- 4 potatoes (medium, peeled, halved)
- 2 sweet potatoes (medium, peeled, cut into 5 cm chunks)
- 2 corn-on-the-cob (cut into 4 pieces each)
- 1 lime (juice)
To serve
- 4 servings cooked white rice
- A small bowl of hogao
- Sliced ripe avocado
- Lime wedges
Method
Stage 1 - Stock and chicken
- Place chicken pieces in a wide deep pot with water, halved onion, coriander stems, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, bay.
- Bring to a simmer; skim scum.
- Cover; cook on low 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes until the meat falls off the bone (stewing hen) or is tender (regular chicken).
- Lift the meat out; strain the broth into a jug.
Stage 2 - Sofrito and finish broth
- Wipe the pot; heat the oil.
- Soften the chopped onion 8 minutes.
- Add grated tomato and annatto; cook 4 minutes.
- Pour the strained broth back in.
Stage 3 - Vegetables
- Add cassava and plantain; simmer covered 25 minutes.
- Add potatoes, sweet potato and corn; cook 20 more minutes until everything is tender.
Stage 4 - Combine
- Return the chicken to the pot; warm through 5 minutes.
- Stir in lime juice; taste; adjust salt.
- Scatter coriander leaves.
Stage 5 - Serve
- In wide deep bowls: a portion of rice, then a piece of each vegetable, a piece of chicken, and broth ladled over.
- Hogao, avocado, lime on the side.
Notes
- Stewing hen if you can: Older birds give a deeper broth and stand up to long simmering. A regular chicken works but cuts the cook to about an hour.
- Don't pre-dice everything small: The vegetables are eaten in big chunks - that's the dish.
- Rice on the side: Don't cook rice in the broth. Plain rice goes in the bowl with broth poured over.
Storage
- Refrigerate 4 days. Better the next day.
- Freezes 3 months.
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