Mmm... Sancocho! I discovered sancocho a few months ago when I read, "We Fed an Island" by Jose Andres and I'm hooked! When making it, I fill about 1/2 to 2/3 of a 5 qt. dutch oven with water and throw in a little bit of this and a little bit of that of different ground spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, allspice, and cumin), but the main squash/root vegetables are butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and sometimes carrots, parsnips, and pumpkin thrown in. I don't think to buy plantain when I'm at the store, but maybe within the coming weeks I'll remember it and actually have some money to buy it. I put in the contents of a can of sardines (oil included) and leftover fish (normally the meat we have on hand), some liquid aminos (regular or coconut), and put the pot on to simmer, covered, for about an hour or so to reduce the liquid and meld all the spices and food together. I can't have whole corn, so I unfortunately omit it.
Here's what tonight's bowl (gone in 60+ sec.) looked like before it found its way in my stomach. I was way too hungry to wait long enough to make some rice and ate two bowls full of sancocho.
My husband thinks sancocho is just "fish soup" and doesn't want any part of it. I know it's more than that (2-3 or more kinds of meat), as the ingredients of sancocho varies per person's taste and country of origin. Sooo, please post what ingredients make up your sancocho, and what countries you originate from if you live anywhere other than Latin America. Thanks!