“Sancocho is a daylong dish to make. It has many steps. It’s making a pact with time that you will be patient and the outcome will be delicious.”

– Elizabeth Acevedo, Clap When You Land

How can you read a food description like this and not want a taste? Elizabeth Acedvedo introduced me to the flavors that make up the Caribbean beef stew, sancocho, in her novel Clap When You Land. This is comfort food. This is the dish that nurtures the Caribbean soul. After reading about the love and warmth that goes into assembling the dish, I immediately got on the internet and started searching for a recipe. Not knowing how it was supposed to taste to determine if my attempt was successful, my first pot was a hit within my family. When I visited the Dominican Republic for the first time at the start of 2020, I told my Dominican friend to take me to the restaurant that serves the best sancocho. Since then, Slow Cooker Sancocho has appeared multiple times on my kitchen table.

Although most associated with the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Puerto Rico, sancocho is also served in other countries like Cuba, Honduras, Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ecuador. Like pot roast in the U.S.A., everyone has their own recipe based on what’s available in their area (for example, rutabaga and parsnip have never been in my southern pot roast, but they’re a popular addition in New England).

“It is browning and boiling. Blending and straining. It is meat and root vegetables, herbs and salt. It is hearty and made from the earth and heart… I brown the beef and chicken. Peel and chunk of yucca and plantains. This is the stew we make for welcome.”

This hearty stew can be made year-round and is not reserved for snowy weather. Slow Cooker Sancocho is the perfect throw-it-in-the-pot-and-forget-it meal. But as the name entails, it takes time. If you’re like me, you prep the veggies the night before, start the pot in the morning, and it will be ready by lunch or when you get home from work. Or you can cook it overnight.

Belle Tips

• This Slow Cooker Sancocho recipe calls for homemade green sofrito, a simple Spanish-Caribbean flavor base. Depending on where you’re from, you can choose from several variations (Puerto Ricans call it Recaito). For this recipe, I’m using a green Dominican sofrito. It keeps in the refrigerator for three weeks. You can also freeze portions in the ice-cube trays to keep for months.  Goya and Loisa make a premade version if you wish. Frozen versions are also available.
• Use what your budget can handle and what’s available in your area. Pumpkins are seasonal. You may need to look for frozen squash or use sweet potatoes. You may need to make a trip to the Asian, African, or Latino food mart for some ingredients. I’ve seen recipes with green beans, celery, white beans, cabbage, Kabocha squash (auyama).  Maybe, based on your budget, you only choose 2 or 3 vegetables and fruits instead of the 8 listed. If you have trouble choosing, I suggest keeping the plantain, yucca, corn, white potato, kabocha squash, or sweet potato in that order of priority.
• Chop vegetables into uniformed sized pieces to ensure equal cook time. I like bite-sized chunks. Some might prefer smaller bits. You choose.  Be sure to scrub and rinse vegetables of any dirt and debris.

Slow Cooker Sancocho

4 hours | Serves 8

Ingredients

15 oz Green Sofrito

1 Cassava (Yuca) Peeled and diced

2 ears of corn each to approx 4-6 pieces (about 3-4 rows of kernels each)

1 large white potato, diced

1 Sweet potato, diced

1 kabocha squash, peeled and diced

½ small Butternut squash (or 2 cups), peeled and diced

2 large carrots (approx. 2 cups) diced

2 green plantains, peeled and diced.

1 yellow onion, quartered

2 pounds stewing beef

32 oz beef broth

¼ cup vegetable or olive oil

2 TBS Garlic

2 TBS Oregano

Salt and Black pepper to taste

Optional: Cilantro, limes, and avocado for garnish. Serve with white rice.

Instructions

1. First, marinate the beef in approx 7 oz of sofrito for at least 1 hour. To keep the safety of the meat, store in the fridge while marinating.
2. In a large crockpot/slow cooker on high, heat vegetable oil and brown meat on all sides in batches if needed. Remove meat, and set aside.
3. Then, in the beef oil, add onions, oregano, and garlic until fragrant and onions are translucent.
4. Pour beef broth and remaining sofrito into the pot. Scrape any sticky parts of the pan with a wooden spoon to release flavors.  Add meat and let cook for about 1 hour.
5. Add diced vegetables and plantains.
6. Lastly, cook for at least 4 hours, allowing flavors to meld. Add water if needed to replace evaporated but allow to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish your Slow Cooker Sancocho with cilantro, limes, and avocado. Serve with a side of white rice. Eat while reading Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land.