Sancocho de Gallina

The story

Sancocho de Gallina is a Colombian main with a clear sense of place. Sancocho is not a single recipe but a broad family of soups found across Colombia and the Caribbean. Chicken versions are common for family gatherings and rural cooking, with regional combinations of roots, corn and plantain. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 1400 g free-range chicken pieces
• 500 g yuca or cassavapeeled and chunked
• 2 piece green plantainpeeled and chunked
• 500 g potatoespeeled and halved
• 3 piece corn cobscut into pieces
• 120 g Spring onions
• 250 g tomatoeschopped
• 15 g Garlic
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 60 g fresh coriander
• 2800 ml water
• 2 piece limeto serve

Method

1. Brown the chicken lightly in a large

   Brown the chicken lightly in a large stockpot with a spoonful of oil. Add spring onions, tomatoes, garlic and cumin and cook 5 minutes until fragrant.

   Look for: fragrant Tip: Cut dense roots into similarly large pieces but stagger their addition according to cooking time. Avoid: Adding every root at once makes some dissolve before others cook; yuca must be peeled thoroughly; a hard boil shreds chicken and clouds the broth.

2. Pour in water, bring to a boil,

   Pour in water, bring to a boil, skim and reduce to a gentle simmer for 25 minutes. Add corn and green plantain and cook another 20 minutes.

3. Add yuca and potatoes, keeping the pieces

   Add yuca and potatoes, keeping the pieces generous so they do not disappear into the broth. Simmer 25–30 minutes until all the roots are tender.

   Look for: all the roots are tender

4. Lift out any woody central fibre from

   Lift out any woody central fibre from the yuca pieces as it becomes visible. Stir in half the coriander and simmer 5 minutes.

5. Taste the broth for salt and body

   Taste the broth for salt and body. Mash one small piece of yuca or potato into the liquid if you want a slightly fuller texture, but keep the soup brothy.

6. Serve each bowl with chicken, corn, plantain,

   Serve each bowl with chicken, corn, plantain, yuca and potato. Finish with fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime.

   Look for: Chicken is tender, yuca is creamy without fibres, plantain is soft and corn is juicy.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.