Chicken sancocho
A hearty Latin American stew of chicken, plantain, potatoes and corn on the cob in a cilantro-scented broth, the kind of pot that makes a whole Sunday feel special.
- 80 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 6
- About $2.25 a serving
- 330 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves kept apart
- 1 plantain, green
- 1½ lb boneless chicken thighs
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1½-inch chunks
- 2 corn on the cob, cut into 2-inch rounds
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 cups water
Each serving has about 330 calories, 27 g protein, 36 g carbs and 10 g fat, and costs about $2.25 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No boneless chicken thighs? Chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work.
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and bell pepper, the garlic, and the cilantro stems, saving the leaves for later.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Cut the ends off the plantain, a shallow line down the length of the , and pry the peel off with your thumb. Cut it into 1-inch chunks.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Peel. Peeling means removing the skin with a vegetable peeler or a small knife. It takes off tough or bitter skins, though potato and carrot skins are fine to leave on unless the recipe insists.
How you’ll know: The color underneath is even all over, with no patches of skin left behind.
Dolly’s tip: Green plantain peel is stubborn. Work your thumb under the slit and peel it off in strips, like a stiff banana.the chicken all over with the salt, cumin and oregano.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and the chicken for 3 minutes per side. It won’t be cooked through yet.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min
Turn the heat to medium, add the onion, pepper, garlic and cilantro stems and cook for 4 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Add the water, bouillon cubes and plantain and .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to low, cover and for 15 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Add the potatoes and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes more.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: The vegetables go in at different times so each one ends up tender instead of mushy.Add the corn and simmer for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken reads 165°F in the thickest part.
Low heatTimer: 10 min
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Press a few pieces of plantain and potato against the side of the pot to the broth. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro leaves, taste for salt, and serve with avocado.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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