AI-generated image
Puchero santafereño
Boiled chicken, beef and pork dinner
Puchero santafereño: Bogotá's boiled dinner of chicken, beef and pork with plantain, cassava, corn and hogao
Old Santa Fe de Bogotá kept puchero for big family lunches and holidays: a broad pot of beef, pork and chicken boiled with cassava, corn, potatoes, cabbage and, unusually, ripe plantain cooked in its skin, which turns soft and sweet against the savoury meat. It comes to the table in two acts. First the clear, golden broth in cups or small bowls; then a platter of the meats and vegetables, with a pan of warm hogao (tomato and spring onion sauce) spooned over everything, plus rice and avocado on the side. People confuse it with cocido or sancocho, but the plantain and the hogao make it its own thing. Most disappointing pucheros come from boiling hard: the broth goes cloudy and the cassava breaks up, so keep it at a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: add the vegetables in order of how long they take, and lift each batch out onto a warm tray as it becomes tender, so nothing turns to mush while the beef finishes.
- Total time
- 165 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the meats
- 1 ¾ lb beef shin or chuckin 4 large pieces
- 1 ⅛ lb pork ribscut into 8 pieces
- 2 ¼ lb chicken piecesthighs and drumsticks, skin removed
- 16 ¾ cups water
- 1 white onionhalved
- 4 garlic clovescrushed
- 1 tbsp salt
For the vegetables
- 1 ⅓ lb cassava (yuca)peeled, cut into 8 cm lengths, woody core removed; frozen works
- 3 corn on the cobcut into thirds
- 1 ⅓ lb potatoespeeled, halved
- 2 ripe plantainsyellow with black spots, ends trimmed, skin on, halved
- 0.3 head white cabbagecut into 4 wedges
For the hogao
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 6 spring onionsfinely chopped
- 4 ripe tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
To serve
- ½ oz fresh coriander (optional)chopped
- 2 avocados (optional)sliced
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (12)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Put 1 ¾ lb beef shin or chuck, 16 ¾ cups water, 1 white onion, 4 garlic cloves and 1 tbsp salt in a very large pot. Bring to the boil over a high heat and skim off the foam until the surface is clear.
15 minStep 2: Lower the heat so the water barely trembles and simmer, half-covered, for 45 minutes.
45 minStep 3: Add 1 ⅛ lb pork ribs and simmer for 20 minutes more.
20 minStep 4: Add 1 ⅓ lb cassava (yuca) and 3 corn on the cob and simmer for 20 minutes, until the cassava is tender at the edges but still holds together. Lift them onto a warm tray and cover with foil.
20 minStep 5: Add 2 ¼ lb chicken pieces, 1 ⅓ lb potatoes and 2 ripe plantains in their skins. Simmer for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the plantain skins have split and darkened.
25 minStep 6: Lay 0.3 head white cabbage wedges on top for the last 8 minutes, until just tender. Check the meats: the chicken must reach 165°F at the bone, the pork 160°F, and the beef should be tender enough to pull apart with a fork.
8 minStep 7: While the pot simmers, make the hogao: heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and soften 6 spring onions for 5 minutes. Add 4 ripe tomatoes, ½ tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp salt and cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring, until the sauce is thick and glossy and the oil starts to separate.
20 minStep 8: Lift everything out of the pot onto a large platter with the cassava and corn, peeling the plantains. Strain the broth, taste for salt and serve it in cups first, scattered with ½ oz fresh coriander.
Step 9: Bring the platter to the table with the warm hogao to spoon over, and 2 avocados on the side.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 50 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does puchero santafereño take?
- About 165 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 135 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
BabboucheSpiced snail broth
After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.
Moroccan