Still not sure what to make for Christmas, New Year’s Eve and beyond? Why not look to Latin American traditions? One classic dish in that part of the world during the holiday season is bacalao encocado. Bacalao is a white fish, typically cod. Encodado is a dish from the Pacific coast of Colombia, but variations exist all throughout Latin America. Blend 111 in Vienna is featuring it as one of their main items for tonight’s Nochebuena dinner. But if you feel like doing your own cooking at home tonight, executive chef Andrés Julian Zuluaga has shared his flavor-packed recipe for bacalao encocado, made simple for the home chef.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound of fresh cod loin
½ cup of olive oil
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 13-ounce can of coconut milk
2 bay leaves
3 whole garlic cloves, sliced
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon adobo (spice)
1 tomato, grated on a box grater
1 lime, juice
salt
cilantro, to taste
DIRECTIONS
Generously salt the cod loin and let sit for 4 hours. If you do not want to wait the 4 hours, you can add some additional salt to the dish at the end.
In a medium-large saucepan on medium-high heat, add ½ the oil, bay leaves and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add the red pepper. Add a pinch of salt. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the onion and the remainder of the oil and stir. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Add oregano and adobo, stir and cover for 2 minutes, Add the tomato and stir. Raise the heat to high until all of the water from the tomato has evaporated. Stir well and add the coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Add the lime juice and stir. Place the cod loin in the pan so it is covered completely with the sauce mixture. Turn off the heat. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and serve. You may serve the whole cod loin or break it into pieces. Garnish with cilantro.
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