ceci in the road

Passport & Plate - Sancocho de gallina

Ingredients
3 ears fresh corn, cuted into 3 pieces
12 cups of water
½ cup aliños
1 big whole chicken
1 teaspoon salt
2 green plantains, peeled and cut crosswise into 2 inch pieces
2 chicken bouillon cubes
6 medium white potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1 pound frozen yuca cut into big pieces
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ teaspoon ground pepper

 

How to prepare this recipe
In a large pot, place the chicken, corn, aliños, chicken bouillon, salt and green plantain. Add the water and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium and cook for about 30 to 35 minutes. Add the potatoes, yuca and pepper and continue cooking for 30 more minutes or until the yuca and potatoes are fork tender. Stir in the cilantro.

 

The story behind this recipe
It was a December 31st, this crazy day when everyone is waiting for the new year, I had the chance to live a wonderful and sweet culinary experience, when I was traveling on a motorcycle with a friend getting to know the history of "San Agustin" Colombia. As backpackers and photographers often happen to many stories, we had a quick lunch at 11 am and took our way, spellbound by the beauty of the place, in this visual elixir we got the 8 pm on the road trying to find a river called “El Estrecho” (The Narrows).
At that time of night the cold began to bite in the mood of wanting to return to the hotel, take a shower and celebrate the end of year, suddenly in these roads of unpaved trails and sidewalks, the bike chain broke . I decided seek for help and at that time of night was already 9 o'clock, walking down the dark road I had the chance to see the clearest and more starry sky that I’ve seen until today, as about 200 meters I found a house and they gave us a hand, I walked a little more looking for a place to buy something to eat, shivering with the cold of the night and with bike grease all over my face, for those chances of life I asked for directions of a store in a house nearby and I started chatting with the owner, the house a humble little farm full of flowers , in the middle of our talk I told her that I was looking for some place to buy food because I was very hungry, and this beautiful woman offered us me and my friend a dish of the most delicious Colombian chicken soup made in a wood stove.

Here is the recipe for this humble and simple dish, which for the Colombian culture, rural families and memories of the grandparents of yesteryear was the dish that join families on special dates, for me that December 31st was the divine breath of feeling the love of a stranger, giving us in these tablespoons of soup, which defines many people in Colombia, their big heart.