Sancocho With Aji Recipes

TRUE DOMINICAN SANCOCHO (LATIN 7-MEAT STEW)

Steps:

• Mash garlic, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt together in a bowl.
• Douse chicken, beef, and pork with lemon juice in a large bowl. Drain half the liquid. Mix the mashed garlic, half of the onions, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and vinegar into the meat mixture.
• Heat the remaining 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat mixture in batches and cook until browned on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer the browned meats into a large pot. Add half of the water, chicken broth, beef consomme, 2 bouillon cubes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until meats are more than halfway cooked through, about 40 minutes.
• Combine pumpkin, sweet potatoes, eddeos, yuca, potatoes, plantains, corn, celery, carrots, green pepper, cilantro, and adobo seasoning in the simmering pot. Return soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low and continue simmering until the sancocho is thick and the root vegetables are soft, 1 to 2 hours. Stir in the remaining half of the water by gradual increments to replace any evaporated liquid.

PUERTO RICAN SANCOCHO

Steps:

• 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.
• Pour enough water over meat mixture to fill pot 3/4 full; add tomato sauce and beef bouillon.
• Mix green beans, carrots, celery, chayote squash, white beans, cabbage, green banana, yellow plantain, llautias, potatoes, pumpkin, corn, and green bell pepper (in this order), cooking and stirring after each addition. 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.

SANCOCHO WITH AJI

Steps:

• For the aji:
• Place the cilantro, scallions, chiles, onions, lime juice and 3/4 cup water in a small glass bowl or jar with a tight fitting lid.
• Add the tomato if using, season with salt, to taste, and stir all of the ingredients together.
• Cover and set the aji aside at room temperature for several hours to allow the flavors to release into the liquid, then refrigerate until serving.
• Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat for 1 minute.
• Add the onions and garlic and cook until they're soft and transparent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme and continue to cook 5 more minutes.
• Add the chicken and the beef ribs and cook until the tomatoes have disintegrated, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming the foam from the top of the broth when necessary.
• Add the green plantains, cilantro, and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the plantains are tender, 30 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the pot and set it aside.
• Add the potatoes, pumpkin, ripe plantains, yucca and corn and simmer, uncovered, until both are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Remove the cilantro and the bay leaves and return the chicken to the pot to re-heat it.
• To serve, arrange a piece of chicken, some beef, plantains, and a few pieces of yucca and potatoes on each plate.
• Serve the broth in a small bowl, and the aji sauce on the side, along with a bowl of rice, corn, some avocados and arepas or tortillas on separate plates.

SANCOCHO

Steps:

• To make the recaito, process the onion, bell pepper, frying pepper, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a blender until it resembles a very chunky sauce. Add the cilantro and blend until the sauce is combined and has a slightly chunky consistency, about 30 seconds. Set aside 1/2 cup of the recaito you've just made and freeze the rest for future preparations.
• Add the remaining olive oil to a very large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Dry the oxtails and add salt and pepper. Brown the oxtails in batches, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside on a plate or platter.
• Remove excess fat from the pot you browned the oxtails in, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pot. Add the reserved 1/2 cup recaito and saute until fragrant. Add the adobo, oregano and bay leaves, then stir in the tomato sauce and saute for 1 minute. Add the red wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper to taste, remembering that as the broth reduces it will become saltier; don't go overboard. Add the oxtails back to the pot. Lower the heat and cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly cracked. Simmer until the meat is beginning to become tender and fall apart, about 2 hours.
• Skim the fat off the top of the stew. Add the potatoes, yucca, plantains, pumpkin and corn. Top with more chicken stock, if necessary, to cover all the vegetables. Put the lid back on and simmer until the root vegetables are tender, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Taste the broth, season with salt and pepper and garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with a side of rice if desired.

CARIBBEAN STYLE SANCOCHO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium to low heat; add garlic, meat, and onions, cooking until meat is well browned and onions start to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the green pepper, celery, aji dulce (if using), cilantro, salt, pepper, and beef stock; cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 hour (if using chicken you will not need to cook this long).
• Add remaining ingredients and continue to cook until meat is tender and vegetables are soft, an additional 30 minutes.
• NOTE: You may find the corn difficult to cut into rounds. What I do is cook it first either by boiling or in the microwave. This softens the cob so it is easier to cut. I add the corn at serving.