134 Panama – Sancocho de gallina

Sancocho de gallina

I couldn’t figure out how to eat the corn with my utensils so I went cave man and used my hands. This soup was easy to cook and delivers a hearty and satisfying bowl. The root vegetables I used were: cassava, sweet potato and Japanese yams. I could not locate culantro so I substituted cilantro as directed in the recipe.

Ingredients

1 chicken, cut into pieces

1 Tbsp. oil (your choice)

3 garlic cloves, pressed

2 Tbsp oregano

1 tsp black pepper

4 Tbsp culantro*, chopped

1 large onion, chopped into bite-size pieces

3 pounds of starchy vegetables (otoe, name/yams, yuca/cassava, green plantains)**

2 ears corn, broken into 1″ pieces

3 tsp salt (to taste)

Instructions

Season the chicken with the garlic, oregano, and pepper.

In a heavy pot, brown the seasoned chicken in the oil over a medium flame and allow to sweat.

Set a little culantro/cilantro aside for garnish at the end. Add the rest of the culantro/cilantro, onion and water. Make sure water covers the chicken.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the root vegetables and cut into bite-size pieces.

After chicken has simmered for 20 minutes, add the root vegetables.

Cook until everything softens, about one hour. Keep adding water so the veggies stay about an inch under water.

Add the corn and cook 15 minutes more, until corn is tender.

Stir in salt to taste.

Garnish with the reserved chopped culantro/cilantro and serve.

Notes

* If you can’t find culantro, chopped cilantro leaves and stems can be used.

**Any root vegetables can be used in a pinch, including potatoes, parsnips, turnips and carrots.

Tip: Add more vegetables to serve more people.

And don’t worry if you can’t eat it all right away. Sancocho is one of those soups that only gets more flavorful with time. It also freezes well

Original recipe found here:

https://www.aswesawit.com/panamanian-sancocho/