Sancocho de guandú, also called sopa de guandú con carne salada, is the signature dish of the Barranquilla Carnival, recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage event. Gandul (a pea, also written guandú) is a legume of the Caribbean coast cooked with salt-cured beef (carne salada or serrana), a preservation technique born of the coast's heat. The dish is always served with arroz con coco, marking it as Caribbean Colombian rather than Andean.
A thick, cloudy, earthy broth where the gandul peas have half-dissolved into it, the salt-cured beef giving deep savouriness, the yuca and ñame soft and starchy, a ripe plantain adding a quiet sweetness at the back. Eaten with coconut rice, the sweet and the salty meet on the spoon.
The gandul peas are cooked long and slowly with the salt-cured beef, which releases its brine to season the whole pot and its fibres to thicken the broth. Root vegetables (yuca, ñame) and a ripe plantain are added in stages so each holds its texture. The salt beef must be pre-soaked to control how much salt enters the broth, since it cannot be corrected later.
Variations
Some cooks add corn on the cob. A Sucre version uses fresh green gandul instead of dried.
On the Palate
Where Sancocho de Guandú sits in the Colombian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 110 min
Soak 400g salt-cured beef in cold water for 12 hours, changing the water twice; drain and cut into chunks.
Watch outSoak the salt beef the full time, changing the water — you can't pull salt back out of the broth later, so this is your only chance to control it.
- 225 min
Place the beef in a large pot with 400g dried gandul peas (pre-soaked 4 hours), 3 litres water and a whole onion; simmer 60 minutes.
- 314 min
Add 400g peeled yuca cut in chunks, 300g peeled ñame and 2 whole spring onions; simmer 30 minutes.
- 411 min
Add 1 ripe plantain in thick slices and 2 cloves crushed garlic; simmer 20 minutes until the peas begin to split and the broth thickens.
Watch outIt's ready when the peas begin to split and the broth thickens on its own — the gandul starch is what bodies the sancocho; pull it too soon and it's watery.
- 55 min
Skim any foam, taste for salt (add only if needed), and rest 10 minutes off the heat.
- 65 min
Serve in deep bowls with arroz con coco on the side.
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