My Sunday Sancocho - The Heart of My Dominican Family
In the Dominican Republic, Sunday is not just Sunday. It is Sancocho Day.I want to share what this means for me, because it is not just food, it is our way of life.From early morning, my mom or my aunt puts a huge pot on the stove — we call it a "caldero". Inside we put everything: yuca, yautía, plantains (plátano), corn on the cob, pumpkin (auyama), potatoes, and different meats like beef, pork, and chicken. It cooks slowly for hours, and the whole house smells like home.Sancocho is not made for one person. It's made for everyone. Neighbors pass by, cousins come without calling, someone brings a cold beer or a soda, and we all sit together. We play bachata or merengue low in the background, we talk loud, we laugh even louder, and we eat in the same living room where we grew up.For us, sancocho means "we are together". It means love, abundance, and that no matter how hard the week was, on Sunday we are a family. We serve it with white rice, avocado, and hot sauce. And we always make too much, because in DR, a guest is never too much — there is always one more plate.This is something I do almost every Sunday with my family in Pedro Brand. It's not a restaurant tradition, it's a home tradition. It's how we show love.
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