Destination
Bogota
The story
Sopa de pescado on the Colombian Caribbean coast is a very specific dish. Chunks of firm white fish poached gently in a broth of coconut milk, tomato, sweet pepper, onion and garlic, tinted a deep orange by achiote (annatto) and finished with a shower of fresh coriander and lime. Served in a wide bowl with a mound of white rice on the side, a slice of ripe avocado and a small plate of ají picante for those who want the heat.
Method
Warm the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Sweat the onion, red pepper and spring onions 6 to 8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Add the tomatoes, achiote, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until the tomato breaks down and the mixture turns a deep orange from the achiote.
Pour in the fish stock and the coconut milk. Bring to a gentle simmer. Add the fish head if using and simmer 15 minutes to build flavour. Lift out and discard the fish head.
Add the fish chunks to the simmering broth. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, gently, until the fish is opaque and just cooked through. Don't stir aggressively: you want the pieces to stay whole.
Squeeze in the lime juice. Stir in most of the chopped coriander (save some for the plates). Taste for salt one more time.
Ladle into wide bowls with a generous share of fish and broth. Serve rice on the side, alongside slices of avocado, ají picante and lime wedges. Sprinkle with remaining coriander.
Tips
- Firm fish holds together, delicate fish falls apart. Red snapper, grouper, monkfish and sea bream all keep their shape in the broth. Sole, plaice, hake and cod are too delicate for this treatment.
- Achiote gives the colour. The deep orange broth is the Caribbean signature. Achiote powder is sold at Latin grocers; a teaspoon of it does the whole colour job. If you can't find it, sweet paprika gives you a warmer red, less coastal.
- Coconut milk, not coconut cream. Full-fat coconut milk from a tin is what you want. Coconut cream is too rich and thickens the broth into stew territory. Read the label.
- Don't stir hard once the fish is in. A gentle swirl to distribute the broth is fine; anything rougher breaks the fish into shreds. Half the pleasure is spooning up whole pieces.
- Serve rice on the side, not in the bowl. This is how it's eaten on the Colombian coast: broth in a wide bowl, rice on a small plate next to it. The rice goes in a spoonful at a time as the meal progresses.
More recipes
View all
Whole fish poached in a thick coconut milk sauce with tomato, onion and achiote, served over white rice. Cartagena's Sunday-lunch classic, richer and thicker than a soup.
Poached shrimp tossed in ketchup, mayo, lime and finely diced onion, chilled and served in a cup with soda crackers. Cartagena's beachside cocktail, distinctly Colombian.
Beef tripe slow-cooked with pork ribs, chorizo, potato, plantain and corn in a spiced broth. The Paisa Sunday soup, always eaten with rice and a slice of avocado.
Bogotá's signature soup: three kinds of potato, poached chicken, sweet corn and the wild herb guascas, finished at the table with capers, cream and avocado.
Pork belly slow-cooked in its own fat until the meat is tender and the skin has puffed to a crackling. The centrepiece of the Paisa bandeja and Medellín's proudest export.
Corn masa wrapped around pork, chicken, egg, potato and rice, tied inside banana leaves and steamed for hours. Bogotá's Sunday-morning tamal, and a full day's project in the kitchen.