Name: Atlántico Guandú Bean Sancocho with Beef Ribs, Ripe Plantain and Cassava
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 11 h 15 min
Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients: 4500 ml water, plus plenty for soaking and topping up; 340 g dried guandú (pigeon peas), sorted and rinsed; 680 g meaty beef short ribs, cut into serving pieces; 8 g fine salt, divided and adjusted after tasting; 2 ripe yellow cooking plantains, about 500 g peeled, sliced into 3 cm rounds; 680 g ñame (Caribbean yam), peeled and cut into 4 cm pieces; 680 g fresh sweet yuca (cassava), peeled, woody core removed if present, cut into 4 cm pieces; 225 g ripe tomatoes, finely diced; 90 g white onion, finely diced; 45 g scallions, finely chopped; 7 g garlic, minced; 15 ml neutral oil; 2 g ground cumin; 1 g ground black pepper; 160 g crisp pork chicharrones, broken into bite-size pieces; 80 g costeño cheese, finely grated; 1 lime, cut into wedges, optional

Atlántico guandú sancocho with pigeon peas, beef ribs, ripe plantain, yuca, ñame, pork cracklings and costeño cheese.

Region Atlántico, Colombia’s Caribbean region

Dish Sancocho de frijol guandú, also called sancocho de guandú or guandul

Yield 8 generous bowls

Active preparation 45 minutes

Cooking time About 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Atlántico Guandú Bean Sancocho with Beef Ribs, Ripe Plantain and Cassava

Sancocho de guandú is associated with Colombia’s Caribbean region, especially Atlántico. The Colombian Ministry of Culture inventory lists the ranked dish as Sancocho de frijol guandú and names salted meat, plantain, yuca, ñame and guandul. A Ministry cookbook describes guandú, or pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), as a Caribbean legume used in both sancocho and sweet preparations.

The documented household formula in Paseo de olla: Recetas de las cocinas regionales de Colombia combines soaked guandú with beef ribs or salted beef, ripe yellow plantain, ñame, yuca and hogao. It finishes the soup with crisp chicharrones and grated costeño cheese. This version chooses the beef-rib option and scales the four-person formula to eight generous bowls. It reduces the unusually large crackling quantity in the source to a measured garnish, so the crunchy pork remains a finish instead of overtaking the soup.

Guandú is a pigeon pea with a distinctive earthy, slightly nutty taste. Long simmering softens the dried peas and lets their starch thicken the broth. Ripe plantain contributes sweetness, while ñame and yuca give the soup a filling, softly textured body. Families and towns adjust the meat, seasoning and accompaniments; this is one documented Atlántico version, not a single fixed formula for the entire Caribbean coast.

Ingredients

Guandú and beef broth

4500 ml water, plus plenty for soaking and topping up
340 g dried guandú (pigeon peas), sorted and rinsed
680 g meaty beef short ribs, cut into serving pieces
8 g fine salt, divided and adjusted after tasting

Vegetables and hogao

2 ripe yellow cooking plantains, about 500 g peeled, sliced into 3 cm rounds
680 g ñame (Caribbean yam), peeled and cut into 4 cm pieces
680 g fresh sweet yuca (cassava), peeled, woody core removed if present, cut into 4 cm pieces
225 g ripe tomatoes, finely diced
90 g white onion, finely diced
45 g scallions, finely chopped
7 g garlic, minced
15 ml neutral oil
2 g ground cumin
1 g ground black pepper

Finish and serve

160 g crisp pork chicharrones, broken into bite-size pieces
80 g costeño cheese, finely grated
1 lime, cut into wedges, optional

Method

Soak and rinse the guandú. Pick through the dried peas and discard any stones or shrivelled pieces. Rinse under cool water, cover with plenty of water in a large bowl and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. Drain and rinse again before cooking. The peas should look plumper, but soaking alone does not cook them; they still need a full simmer until tender.
Make the hogao. Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and scallions and cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring, until softened but not browned. Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook for another 8–10 minutes until the tomatoes collapse into a thick, spoonable sauce. Stir in the cumin, pepper and about 2 g of the salt. Set aside. If the mixture begins to catch, add a tablespoon of water rather than more oil.
Simmer the peas and beef. Put the drained guandú, beef ribs and 4500 ml water in the stockpot. Bring to a boil, skim the surface, then cover partly and lower the heat to a steady simmer. Cook for 90–120 minutes, checking the peas and beef after 90 minutes. The peas should be tender through the centre, and the meat should be cooked through and beginning to loosen from the bones. Check the thickest meaty rib section with a thermometer; it must reach at least 70°C. Add hot water during cooking if the peas or ribs are no longer mostly submerged. The time varies with the age of the dried peas and the size of the ribs.
Add the plantain, ñame, yuca and hogao. Stir in the plantain rounds, ñame, yuca and prepared hogao. Bring the pot back to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 25–35 minutes, until a knife slides through the roots without resistance and the plantain is soft but still in pieces. Stir slowly from the bottom once or twice so the beans do not stick; avoid vigorous mixing, which can break the plantain and tubers. Add a little hot water if the broth becomes thicker than you like.
Season, garnish and serve. Taste the broth and add the remaining salt gradually, keeping in mind that costeño cheese and packaged chicharrones can be salty. Remove any loose bone fragments and check that the beef is tender. Ladle into deep bowls, then top each with a modest handful of crisp chicharrones and grated costeño cheese. Offer lime wedges at the table. The cracklings are best added just before eating so they stay crisp.

Practical guidance

Practical

Nutrition per serving

Approximate estimate based on the measured ingredients and generic USDA FoodData Central composition proxies, cross-checked against published cooked pigeon-pea composition data. It assumes an average edible yield from bone-in short ribs. Chicharrones and costeño cheese vary considerably in fat and sodium, and the final salt is adjusted to taste, so actual values can differ. Optional lime is excluded; this is not a laboratory analysis.

Equipment

Use a heavy stockpot of at least 10 litres with a lid, a medium skillet for the hogao, a sharp knife, cutting board, ladle and food thermometer. The pot needs generous headroom because the beans and roots expand and the soup simmers for a long time. A slotted spoon is useful for skimming the first foam. Keep raw beef and its utensils separate from washed produce and ready-to-eat garnishes.

Practical guidance

Buy dried guandú from a supplier with good turnover; older peas can take longer to soften. Keep the soaking bowl refrigerated, especially in a warm kitchen, and use fresh water for cooking. If the guandú remains firm after the stated range, continue simmering and check every 15 minutes rather than adding acidic ingredients early. Tomato goes in with the hogao, after the peas have had their long initial cook. Ñame varieties differ in texture. Cut the pieces evenly so they soften at a similar rate, and add them with the yuca and ripe plantain. Choose a plantain with yellow peel and some dark flecks: it should be ripe and fragrant but firm enough to slice. Sweet edible yuca should be peeled thoroughly; remove a woody core if present and cook until completely soft. Do not use bitter cassava unless it has been properly processed. Wash the plantain, yuca, ñame, tomatoes, onion, scallions, lime and herbs under clean running water before preparation. Costeño cheese is salty cow’s-milk cheese, so taste before adding the last salt. It contains milk. Check packaged chicharrones and any prepared hogao for additional allergens or cross-contact statements. For a lighter bowl, serve less crackling at the table; the soup itself remains substantial from the peas, ribs and roots. Cool leftovers in shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours. Keep refrigerated for 3–4 days or freeze. Reheat throughout to 74°C, stirring so the centre heats evenly; add water if the soup has thickened. Store the cheese and cracklings separately and add them after reheating. Lime is excluded from the nutrition estimate.

Final notes

For a thicker broth: Let the peas simmer until tender before adding the roots; some will soften and release starch into the soup. For crisp texture: Keep the chicharrones separate and add them to each bowl immediately before serving.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 1 of 8 bowls with broth, peas, beef and vegetables; optional lime excluded
Energy: 760 kcal
Carbohydrate: 101 g
Protein: 39 g
Fat: 23 g
Fibre: 15 g
Sodium: About 1150 mg

Atlántico Guandú Bean Sancocho with Beef Ribs, Ripe Plantain and Cassava

Ingredients

Guandú and beef broth

Vegetables and hogao

Finish and serve

Method

Practical

Nutrition per serving

Equipment

Practical guidance

Final notes

Nutrition per serving

Colombian National Dishes

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Sancocho trifásico from San Estanislao with Pork, Chicken and Roots

Sancocho de Doña Conchita: pork, tripe and root-vegetable stew