Traditional Dominican sancocho: the seven-meat stew with cassava, yam, green plantain and corn

Sancocho is the dish Dominicans cook when it rains, when someone has a birthday, when the family gathers and when there is no reason at all beyond wanting it. It comes from the Spanish cocido and the Caribbean ajiaco, but gained the island's identity with the víveres, the roots and cooking fruits that thicken the broth: cassava, yam, sweet potato, green plantain, taro and auyama, the local squash.

The celebration version is sancocho de siete carnes, the seven-meat one: chicken, pork, beef, goat, sausage, smoked ribs and sometimes salt beef, each marinated with the Dominican sazón of oregano, garlic, cilantro, onion and sour orange. At home, three or four meats are enough for a real sancocho. The broth thickens on its own, with the squash and plantain breaking down, and turns golden and dense.

It is served in a deep bowl with white rice on the side, slices of avocado and a little hot sauce or lime, and it is one of the few dishes a Dominican recommends as much for the heat as for a hangover.

Recipe card

• Origin: Dominican Republic
• Category: Meat and root stew, main course
• Difficulty: Medium (many ingredients, simple technique)
• Prep time: 45 minutes (plus 1 hour of marinating)
• Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes
• Serves: 10

Ingredients — meats and seasoning

• 500 g bone-in chicken pieces
• 500 g pork leg, cubed
• 500 g beef shank or short ribs, in pieces
• 300 g goat or lamb, in pieces (optional)
• 200 g smoked sausage, sliced
• Juice of 2 limes and 1 orange
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons oil

Ingredients — víveres and finishing

• 500 g cassava, cut into chunks
• 300 g yam or taro, cut into chunks
• 300 g sweet potato, cut into chunks
• 300 g squash, cut into chunks
• 3 green plantains, in thick slices
• 2 ears of corn, cut into rounds
• 3 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
• 3 liters water
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• More cilantro and lime juice to finish
• White rice and avocado to serve

Method

1. Mix all the meats, except the sausage, with the lime and orange juice, garlic, oregano, cilantro, onion, salt and pepper and marinate for 1 hour.
2. In a very large pot, heat the oil and brown the meats in batches, starting with the pork and beef. Set aside.
3. Return the beef, pork and goat to the pot with the marinade, bell pepper and tomato, add the water and cook covered over low heat for 1 hour.
4. Add the chicken and sausage and cook for 30 minutes.
5. Add the cassava, yam, sweet potato, green plantain and corn and cook for 30 minutes.
6. Add the squash and potatoes and cook for 30 more minutes, until everything is tender and the broth is thick. Mash some of the squash and plantain against the pot to thicken.
7. Adjust the salt, finish with cilantro and lime and serve in deep bowls with white rice and avocado on the side.

Tips and variations

• Three meats (chicken, pork and beef) already make an excellent everyday sancocho.
• In a pressure cooker, the beef and goat cook in 30 minutes; finish with the rest in an open pot.
• Sancocho de habichuelas has red beans and is the fasting version.
• Green plantain is the traditional thickener: do not replace it with ripe.
• It is better the next day and freezes well, although the roots soften.
• A little agrio de naranja, sour orange, at the end is the Dominican touch; lime with orange imitates it.
• Serve with a very cold Presidente beer, as the island dictates.

Sancocho is the Dominican Republic in a big pot: meats, roots and green plantain in a golden broth that thickens on its own. Make it for a crowd, on a rainy day, and serve with rice and avocado.