Sancocho de Pescado (Colombian Fish Sancocho)
Catfish simmered with potato, corn, green plantain, cassava and arracacha. Those last three are what make it a sancocho rather than a fish soup. An hour, and it feeds five.
Servings: 5
Calories: 685kcal
Ingredients
- 2 lbs catfish chopped
- 5 potatoes peeled and chopped
- 3 large green plantains chopped
- 400 g cassava peeled and chopped
- 150 g arracacha grated: see the notes
- 2 corn cobs chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 celery stalk
- Achiote or annatto colouring 'color' in Colombia, to taste
- Cumin to taste
- Cilantro chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Water enough to cover everything
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to the boil. Meanwhile peel the plantains, potatoes and cassava, chop them and rinse them.
- Add the plantains and the cassava to the pot, then the chopped corn cobs.
- Add the celery stalk, the chopped onion and the tomato, season with salt and pepper, and bring it back to the boil.
- Once it is boiling, add the achiote colouring, the cumin, the garlic and the grated arracacha. Cook for about 15 minutes.
- Add the chopped fish and the potatoes and carry on cooking for 20 to 25 minutes, until everything is soft. For a thicker broth, grate an extra potato into it before those 25 minutes are up.
- Stir in the chopped cilantro at the end and serve.
Notes
Arracacha is the ingredient that makes this a sancocho and not a fish soup, and it is worth knowing. It is a root related to celery and carrot, sold in Latin markets as arracacha or apio criollo, with a texture between potato and parsnip and a distinct celery-like sweetness. Grated into the pot, it dissolves and thickens the broth. If you cannot find it, parsnip is closer than potato, though nothing tastes quite the same. The fish goes in last, with the potatoes, and gets 20 to 25 minutes. Everything else needs longer, which is why the plantain, cassava and corn go in at the start. Catfish holds together well; a softer fish will break up. What Colombians call color is a powdered achiote or annatto colouring sold in sachets, not the artificial food colouring the old translation suggested. It turns the broth golden and adds little flavour. Turmeric does the same job.
Nutrition
Calories: 685kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 626mg | Potassium: 2911mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 3187IU | Vitamin C: 77mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 6mg