Sancocho Recipe and Lesson Plan

Mar 21, 2013
Culantro, easy to find in Brooklyn, less than $1.

Culantro, easy to find in Brooklyn, less than $1.

I guess I wasn't the first to theorize about the health benefits of Sancocho!

I guess I wasn’t the first to theorize about the health benefits of Sancocho!

Sancocho (Soup) y Ensalada (Salad)

Let’s say good-bye to winter with this warm comforting soup, and welcome in fresh greens with an enlivening salad.  Sancocho recipe inspired by the Go Green East Harlem Cookbook.  Read about how it became vegan here.

Vocabulary

  • yucca – a root vegetable
  • starch – an important element of our nutrition. Delivers carbs, gives a sense of comfort.
  • Plantain – a commonly used ingredient in Caribbean cuisine

STEM

  • Science – We identify starches in our diets and their roles.
  • Technology – We use a few helpful tools to mash our green bananas.
  • Engineering – The texture of our soup will depend on the cooking of the bananas.
  • Math – if this recipe serves, 6, how many times do we need to increase the quantity to feed our class and friends?

Equipment Needed

  • Knives
  • Stew pot
  • Blender or food processor
  • bowls

Ingredients
Sancocho

  • 2 yautia root (sub yams if necessary)
  • 1 large yucca
  • 6 potatoes
  • 2 ears of corn
  • 1 green plantain
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 1 bell pepper (green)
  • small pack of tofu or meat imitation (optional)
  • 4 green bananas
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • S&P

Salad

  • 1 large green cabbage
  • 2 avocados
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • handful of sun-dried tomatoes sliced

 sancocho cookingProcedures

Sancocho

  • Peel yautia (or yams), yucca, and potatoes and cut into large chunks, Break or cut the ears of corn into pieces. Cut the plantain into this slices. Chop the cilantro, culantro, onions, and peppers.
  • In a large stew pot, add 2 cups of clean water.
  • Puree the green bananas, drop pureed bananas into pot of boiling water.
  • Add all remaining ingredients and return to boil, adding water if necessary. Simmer until all ingredients are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Optional, sprinkle in some imitation meat protein for varied texture.  We used Tofurkey ground beef.

Salad

  • Chop cabbage finely
  • Use two avocados to make a creamy dressing by blending with water and salt
  • Slice various veggies to adorn the salad

 

1 Comment

  1. Hip Dhamma » Sancocho!
    March 21, 2013

    […] The best part of creating this recipe was coming to understand how the creaminess is achieved.  I doubted that it could ever be made vegan when I first tried it.  But to my surprise the creamy consistency comes from pureeing and boiling green bananas.  I predict that I will be serving this dish A LOT in the near future despite the warm weather on the horizon.  The recipe and lesson plan is here. […]

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