Hispanic Heritage · Colombia

Cali y el Valle

Cali · Palmira · Yumbo · Jamundí · Buga · Ginebra

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Sancocho de gallina valluno

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In Colombia’s Valle del Cauca, sancocho de gallina brings hen, green plantain, yuca, and herbs together in a savory broth. This chapter explores how a small set of ingredients can create a complete meal.

La Gente

Let the bird establish the broth before adding ingredients that cook more quickly. Cilantro and other fresh herbs brighten the pot near the finish. Serve with rice and avocado, with enough broth for a generous second spoonful.

Sabor

The valley's sancocho is deliberately clean: hen, smoke, green plantain, yuca, and herbs. The purists use no color and no cumin and no bouillon, and they mean it. The seasoning is cimarrón and cilantro blended into the water, green onion, garlic, and salt. The richness is the bird.

Spice DNA · Herb high · Smoke medium · Sweet low · Heat none · Acid low

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. Into the green water with the herbs. Adds a savory garlic base.
Onion Powder. Alongside the fresh green onion.
Black Pepper, ground. Optional in the pot. Ginebra says no. Cali says a little.
Cumin, ground. Optional. See the third fight above.
Cilantro flakes. For the day you have no fresh. Fresh is expected.

Badia does not sell cimarrón, and there is no jar that replaces it. Without it this is still a good sancocho. It is just not valluno.

Cocina

Sancocho de gallina valluno

The Sunday pot of the Valle del Cauca, the Ginebra way. Break the plantain with your hands. Blend the herbs into the water. Let the bird take its time.

Serves 8

1 stewing hen, 4 to 5 lb, cut in pieces, or a large chicken
14 cups water
1 bunch cilantro
6 leaves cimarrón (culantro), plus 4 more chopped for the end
4 green onions, plus 2 more chopped for the end
4 tsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 4 garlic cloves
½ tsp Badia Onion Powder
Salt
¼ tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground, optional
Pinch of Badia Cumin, ground, optional
3 green plantains, peeled
1½ lb yuca, peeled and cut in thick pieces
2 ears of corn in thirds, optional, and see the second fight
2 potatoes, optional, and see the first fight

On the table

White rice
Avocado
Ají
Lime

The green water. Blend half the cilantro, the six cimarrón leaves, the four whole green onions, the garlic, and 2 cups of the water until smooth and green. This is the Valle's trick and it is the reason the broth tastes the way it does.
Start the bird. Put the hen in a large pot with the remaining water and the green water. Add the onion powder, salt, and the pepper and cumin if you are using them. Bring to a boil, skim, and simmer partly covered. A hen needs 1½ to 2 hours before it is tender; a chicken needs about 45 minutes. Do not rush a hen.
The plantain. Break each plantain into pieces with your thumbnail and fingers, not a knife, into chunks the size of a walnut. Add them to the pot when the bird is nearly tender. Simmer 20 minutes.
The yuca. Add the yuca, and the corn and potatoes if using. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes more, until the yuca is soft and the broth has thickened from the plantain. Taste for salt.
Finish. Stir in the chopped cimarrón, the rest of the cilantro chopped, and the chopped green onions. Off the heat. Five minutes with the lid on.
Serve. Broth, a piece of the bird, plantain, and yuca in a deep bowl. Rice on a plate beside it, which is how the Valle does it and which confuses everyone else. Avocado, ají, and a lime for the person who wants one.

Pueblos del Valle y el suroccidente

Cali · Palmira · Yumbo · Jamundí · Buga · Ginebra · Tuluá · Cartago · Sevilla · Roldanillo · Candelaria · Pradera · Florida · Buenaventura · Popayán · Pasto · Ipiales · Tumaco