Friday, April 06, 2007
It's Good Friday, so it's Sancocho for lunch
"Many Canarian families will be sitting down to a plate of sancocho today - a traditional dish made with salt fish and sweet potatoes.", we're told.
Unfortunately, you won't be able to prepare it for today, if you haven't already, because the salt fish needs to be de-salted the day before, but they also point to the recipe (in Spanish), so you will be able to save this for another day.
However, since that recipe is in Spanish, and the only English versions I could find online were rather awkward translations, I'll provide a translation here.
Sancocho Canario (Canarian Fish Stew)
The word sancocho means different things in different Latin American countries, however, in Canary Island cooking, it refers to a stew or stewing (sancocha).
Ingredients:
* Two kilos of potatoes
* One kilo of cherne (this is some kind of grouper or sea bass and you probably won't want a whole fish [see photo] :) or other salted white fish.
* One large sweet potato (some recipes substitute yam)
* A pinch of salt
Preparation:
De-salt the fish the day before. To do this, you soak the fish in clean water for 24 hours, changing the water from time to time.
Peel the potatoes, wash them and put them into a large saucepan. Cover with water and add the fish and the sweet potato (also previously peeled and cut).
Add a pinch of salt, if necessary, and stew everything. (No, they don't say how long for, but logic tells me that potatoes will be done in 15 - 20 minutes.)
Accompaniments:
Serve with mojo rojo (spicy red sauce - recipe), pella de gofio (ball, lump or loaf of gofio), dates, dried figs or even bananas.
Pella de gofio
Now, if you make the accompaniment, you may have to improvise with your pella de gofio, because the correct way to make this is in a zurrón, which is a special bag made from the skin of a baifo (goat kid).
You may not have one to hand, I think! :)
The simplified recipe on this page, tells you to simply to knead the gofio. That is made with water, oil, sugar and salt added. In other recipes, honey and almonds are added. I've had it before with pieces of white goat's cheese added to the mixture.
It's Good Friday, so it?s Sancocho for lunch
