Food and Drink

Sancocho

26 May 2014

This traditional Panamanian dish has many different versions with slight variations depending on regional or personal preference.

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Recipe serves: 6

Ingredients

1 roasting chickens (cut into pieces, you can also just use 3-4 whole chicken breasts)
3 tsps salt
1 tbsp coriander (minced)
1 tsp dried oregano
3 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tsps olive oil
1 onion (large, chopped into bite-sized pieces)
3lbs yucca roots (peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces, also called cassava)
4 cups chicken stock (the kind bought in a box is fine)
Pepper
Salt

Instructions

Rinse the chicken and pat dry.
In a small bowl, mix the salt, cilantro, oregano, garlic, and olive oil. Rub the mix all over the chicken and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, peel and chop the yucca and the onion. Set aside.
Heat a large pot over medium heat. Place the chicken in the pot, place a lid on it, and let it sweat for about 7 minutes.
Add the onion and the chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil and then let it simmer over medium low heat until the chicken is cooked through and soft.
Raise the heat to medium and add the yucca. Bring the pot to a gentle simmer and cook until the yucca is cooked through (approximately 10 minutes).
Serve with white rice on the side that is added into the soup when you are about to eat it.

NOTE: This soup keeps well frozen and only gets more flavourful with time.

Papagaio

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