Sancocho: Colombian Chicken and Cassava Soup
The long broth of the Colombian table: hen simmered slowly with cassava, plantain and corn on the cob, served with rice and avocado. Not to be confused with ajiaco, which is another soup — three potato varieties and guascas, and from Bogotá — even though both occupy the same place at table. Sancocho is about root vegetables and a long pot, and it is eaten with a spoon and a fork.
🔎 What is plantain? — where it comes from, what goes in it and how it differs.
Ingredients
- 1 large hen or chicken, jointed (about 2 kg)
- 3 litres of water
- 500 g peeled cassava, in chunks
- 2 green plantains, in thick chunks
- 2 corn cobs, in rounds
- 2 large potatoes, halved
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch of coriander stalks
- 1 tsp cumin
- Salt and pepper
- White rice, avocado and chilli to taste, to serve
Method
- 1
Put the hen in the pot with cold water, the onion, garlic and coriander stalks. Bring to the boil and skim the surface for the first few minutes: that is what separates a cloudy broth from a clear one.
- 2
Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the meat begins to give. Real hen takes longer than chicken.
- 3
Remove the coriander stalks and the onion.
- 4
Add the green plantain and the corn and cook 15 minutes. The plantain goes first because it is the hardest.
- 5
Add the cassava and the potato and cook another 20 minutes, until everything is tender. ⚠️ Cassava collapses all at once: test it at 15 minutes and lift it out as soon as it gives.
- 6
Season with cumin, salt and pepper only now. Salted early, the broth turns too salty as it reduces.
- 7
Let it rest off the heat for 10 minutes before serving: the broth settles and clears.
- 8
Serve the broth with the meat and vegetables in a deep bowl, with white rice, avocado and chilli on the side.