TODAY Food Club

There is nothing more comforting than eating a hearty meal that warms you up when the weather is cold. If you're looking for something warm and hearty to eat then look no further than having some sancocho. Sancocho is a chunky stew that consists of a variety of root vegetables, plantains, pumpkin, peppers, meat, corn and seasoning. My sancocho recipe comes from my grandmother’s recipe with one major difference, mine doesn't have any meat in it. I use seitan which is a substitution for meat that resembles beef. I enjoy making this recipe because it brings some of the essential Latin ingredients and seasoning together in one pot giving you a taste of what the Latin culture is all about…flavor!

Vegan Sancocho (Root Vegetable Soup)

• Yield: 6 servings
• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cooking Time: 45 min

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or water
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium onion diced
• ½ cup recaíto
• 1 packet seitan drained
• 2 quarts low sodium vegetable stock or water
• ½ green pepper chopped
• ½ pound pumpkin (calabaza) peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ pound taro root (yautía) peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ pound white yam (ñame blanco) peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ pound cassava (yucca) peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 green plantain peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 ears corn cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

1. In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. If you do not want to cook with the oil, you can use two tablespoons of water to sauté the ingredients.
2. Add the seitan and cook until it is browned.
3. Add the recaíto, onions, garlic and green peppers and sauté until softened.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and cover with the water or vegetable stock. If the water or vegetable stock does not cover all of the ingredients add more until it does.
5. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 35-45 minutes or until all of the vegetables are soft.

Recipe Tags

• Fall
• Healthy
• One pot
• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Caribbean
• Latin
• Soup