Ok! This was one large pot of sancoche (pronounced sang- koch) that we made and I was so gree....Uh! hungry... Yes! I was so hungry that I had more than one bowl. And, with salt beef and pigtail in the pot along with all those provision I just couldn't resist. Sancoche is one of our favourite and homemade soups that is made in Trinidad and Tobago. Along with its signature provision, split peas and salted meats like pigtail, smoked bone and salted pickled beef, sancoche also has lots of vegetables making it a very healthy soup. And, a very filling soup at that too.
Of all the soup recipes we have here in Trinidad and Tobago I believe this my favourite...(thinking to myself: or is it? We have corn soup and fish broth to contend with still hmmm!...) Then again I can't really make up my mind because they all taste great. Usually a meal prepared on the weekend (Saturday) sancoche, just like pelau and callaloo, is distinctly Trinidadian and more so Caribbean.
Although this sancoche recipe has all these ingredients, a sancoche to me doesn't really have one set recipe. A sancoche is really a soup with odds and ends of ingredients all thrown together to make a healthy soup: possibly an invented soup out of necessity! So you see there is a lot of room for variations...just don't forget the provision and, my favourite, salt beef and pigtail..OK! OK! I'm a meat mouth...Who say smoke bone! lol! :-)
If you're new to this sancoche recipe I suggest you start out simple, then as you get the hang of it you could add your own style to it, but as a rule make sure you have the provision and split peas since this is a thick soup and not a broth. So, are you ready to make a nice Trini sancoche? Let's get started. Here's Sancoche, an easy soup recipe from my kitchen to yours. Enjoy!
1/2 lb. salt beef, chopped into 2 inch pieces and boiled for half an hour
1/2 lb. pigtail, chopped into 2 inch pieces and boiled for half an hour
1/2 lb. pumpkin, peeled and chopped
1 lb. eddoes, peeled and chopped
1 lb. dasheen, peeled and chopped
1 lb. yam, peeled and chopped
1 hand green fig (green bananas), peeled and chopped
4 ochroes, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
8 dasheen bush leaves (rolled bush), chopped
2 pimento peppers, chopped
5 leaves chadon beni, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp. roucou
1 litre water
salt to taste
1/2 hot pepper
1 cup coconut milk
Yam
Eddoes
Dasheen bush (taro leaves)
I just wanted to show you all how to peel green fig (banana). Now on to the recipe.
Cut up the ingredients and set aside.
Add the boiled salt beef and pig tail to the split peas and pressure cook for 30 minutes.Note: Add enough water to cover the salt beef and pig tail.
Swizzle with a dhal gutney.
Remove the salt beef and pigtail and set aside.
In a large pot saute the onion, garlic and pimento pepper.
Add the roucou....
...and the salt beef and pigtail.
Allow to cook for 2 minutes while stirring frequently.
Add the dasheen bush (taro leaves)...
...and cook for another 2 minutes or until the leaves wilt like in the picture.
Add carrot, ochro, pumpkin and provision (green fig {banana}, eddoes, yam and dasheen)Note: Other provision can be used such as cassava, cush cush, tannia, and plantain.
Add the split peas and coconut milk.
Allow to simmer
Stir the sancoche occasionally so that the provision would not stick to the bottom of the pot.
While the provision is cooking be sure to add enough water from time to time.
Add the chadon beni and celery and hot pepper
The sancoche looks almost ready!
Test the provision to see if it is cooked. This eddoes looks alright!
The sancoche looks finished now. Remove the hot pepper and adjust salt if desired. Serve hot.So you see how easy this soup was and you also have the recipe just in time for the weekend. This week seemed like the week for long recipes. I hope you all didn't mind :-) As usual, more recipes to come. This is yuh boy sayin' "crick crack monkey break he back on ah piece ah pommerac" LOL!! When last you heard those words?......
Ah gone! :-)
You still here? :-)
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