La Lumpia Lady's Sancocho

This is my version of sancocho. Delicious chickeny broth made with a hint of aji amarillo, lime juice, cilantro, y cerveza! Peruvian corn, potatoes, yucca, plantains, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, roasted red bell peppers, ajo, y cebolla... It's so good for you!

My husband requested this dish for his birthday, and I happily obliged. This is perfect for fall and National Hispanic Heritage Month!

La Lumpia Lady's Sancocho

Estimated prep time: 15-20 min. Total time: 90 min. Difficulty: Above Average

Ingredients

• Bone-In chicken thighs

• Yucca (1 small frozen bag)

• Potatoes, cubed (4-5 medium)

• Sweet potatoes (2 large), cubed

• Carrots (3-4), sliced

• Butternut squash (half of one medium butternut squash, or about 3/4 cup), cubed

• 2 green plantains, sliced and quartered

• 1 large onion, diced (OR 1 jar of sofrito)

• 1 Tbsp minced garlic (OR 1 jar of sofrito)

• 1 jar of roasted red bell peppers

• 2-3 Tbsp of aji amarillo paste

• 1 Tsp cumin

• 1 Tsp garlic powder

• 1 Tsp onion powder

• 1 packet of Sazon seasoning

• 1 cup of cooking wine OR 1 bottle of beer

• 2 cartons of chicken broth (or 1 large family size carton)

• 3 bay leaves

• 2-3 cubes of chicken bullion

• Salt

• Peruvian Corn (1 small bag of frozen kernels)

• Juice of 3-4 limes

• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Refer to the bottom of the page for photos of the ingredients used.

Directions

1. In a large pot, brown chicken thighs on medium-high heat.

2. In another medium-sized pot, boil yucca until slightly tender (be careful not to overcook). It may take about 8-10 minutes.

3. While browning the chicken and waiting for yucca to cook, prep your ingredients if you haven't already:

   1. Peel and chop potatoes and sweet potatoes into cubes and peel and slice carrots

   2. Peel, deseed, and chop butternut squash into cubes

   3. Peel and slice plantains into quartered pieces

   4. Chop 1 bunch of cilantro

   5. Juice 3-4 limes

4. Once the chicken is browned, remove from the pot and place it into a bowl to cool (remove skin once cooled if desired). Remove most of the fat from your large pot, leaving a little for sauteing ingredients.

5. Once yucca is slightly tender, turn off burner, remove yucca, and place it into a bowl to cool (remove stems once cooled then cut yucca into cubes)

6. In the large pot (with some chicken fat/oil), sauté onion for about 3 minutes, then add garlic OR instead of onion and garlic, add a jar of sofrito to make things easier (and yummy). If you cannot find sofrito, sauté the onion and garlic, then add a small can of tomato sauce.

7. Add jar of roasted red bell peppers to the large pot.

8. Add 2-3 Tbsp of aji amarillo (add more if you want the dish to have a bigger kick of spicyness). Cook for about 2 minutes. If you cannot obtain aji amarillo, skip this step.

9. Add cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, a little pinch of salt, and 1 packet of Sazon. Cook for another minute.

10. Add 1 cup of white cooking wine, OR 1 bottle of beer. Cook for about 6 minutes, or until the alcohol cooks down.

11. Once most of the liquid evaporates, add chicken thighs back in the pot. Then add potatoes, sweet potatoes, yucca, carrots, butternut squash, and green plantains.

12. Add 2 cartons of chicken broth, 2-3 cubes of chicken bullion, and 3 bay leaves. Add some water if you need it (there should be a good amount of soup along with your ingredients).

13. Let the pot come to a boil, then turn down the heat. Let everything cook for about 30 minutes on a gentle boil (medium-low heat).

14. Add Peruvian corn and let it cook for another 5 minutes.

15. Add lime juice and cilantro. Taste test and add more lime juice if desired. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.

16. Ladle into a bowl, top with extra cilantro, serve with lime wedges, and enjoy!

Tips and notes:

• Sometimes, I need two large pots (I think they are about 8 QT each). I wish I had a super large pot because this recipe requires many ingredients and broth!

• Frozen precut butternut squash and sweet potatoes are a time-saving trick, BUT it doesn't taste as good as the fresh produce!

• Too much fresh butternut squash? Cut it up and freeze the excess!

• You don't have to use the whole jar of sofrito, especially if you're making a small batch. But it does provide a lot of delicious flavors.

• I've made this recipe with Puerto Rican beer, Modelo Especial, and Spanish white wine. So each time, it comes out a little differently.

• Can't find Peruvian (Latin American) corn? Substitute with American sweet corn (although my husband is not a fan and only likes choclo).

• After cooking, cool your yucca faster by placing it into a bowl of ice water. You're adding it back into the hot broth eventually, but this will cool things down faster so you can remove those pesky stems.

Let me know if you try it and any additions of your own!

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Products used: