Sancocho (Puerto Rican Meat and Vegetable Stew) Recipe

If you're looking for pure comfort in a bowl, you'll find it in sancocho, a Latin American meat stew packed with root vegetables and scented with coriander. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and when we moved to the mainland my mom would serve us loads of it whenever we were homesick. It has always brought us back to our little island. The same goes for any Boricua in your life.

Like many Caribbean dishes, this stew had very humble beginnings. It was cobbled together from whatever leftovers enslaved laborers could get their hands on and made heartier with root vegetables, which were the main source of nutrition in their diet. Today, it's a revered dish that symbolizes the Puerto Rican spirit: creating something from nothing and breathing new life into it.

When it comes to sancocho, the possibilities are endless

Sancocho works with almost any protein that can handle a longer cooking time. In the Caribbean and Latin America, there are dozens of variations made from combinations of beef, goat, pork, chicken, and fish. This version comes from my mother who is Colombian but grew up in Puerto Rico.

During the lean times of my childhood, she used chicken drumsticks (as is traditional in Colombian sancocho) instead of the more expensive cuts of beef used in Puerto Rican versions of this stew. In the '80s, we didn't have access to many of our island ingredients in Houston. She substituted sweet potatoes for the Caribbean squash and cilantro for the recao (aka culantro), which grows like a weed throughout Puerto Rico.

If you can't find calabaza, substitute kabocha squash, butternut squash, or sweet potatoes. Try taro or malanga if you can't find yuca and green plantains. If you can't get hold of any of these, just substitute equal parts Yukon Gold Potatoes.

The substitutions didn't matter, however, as she always started with a solid base of sofrito, the pungent flavor base of many Puerto Rican dishes. She then added a generous sprinkling of adobo and sazón, spice blends that gave the broth a deep earthy note and a golden hue to everything in the stew. Although it takes about an hour and a half to prepare sancocho on the stove, it's worth the wait. The sum is much greater than its parts.

Tips for preparing a perfect bowl of Sancocho

To add a lot of flavor Be sure to sear the chicken in the same pot you use to make the sancocho. Do it in small batches so the pot doesn't get too crowded and the meat doesn't get steamed. The stock (yes, the burnt-looking bits) that forms on the bottom of the pot and the browning of the chicken give the stew a rich umami flavor.

When it comes to temperature, the rule is: low and slow. Let the stew simmer, don't boil it. This can result in tough meat with bits of fat and collagen that haven't had time to break down. It also breaks down the veggies too quickly, resulting in a soggy broth and lacking consistency in the veggies — which you'll want to cut into similar sizes so they cook evenly. If you're using cuts of meat that take longer to tender, add the vegetables in the last 45 minutes of the cook time to avoid overcooking and falling apart.

On the other side of this equation Do not leave the stew on the stove for too long. Cooking too long can make the meat stringy and dry and pulverize your veggies. Cover the pot to keep the broth from evaporating. Leave the lid slightly open to prevent overcooking. If the broth is running low, simply add more or top up the pot with water.