Hispanic Heritage · Cuba

Guantánamo

Guantánamo · Baracoa · Maisí · Imías · San Antonio del Sur · Caimanera

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Pescado en leche de coco al estilo Baracoa

Descubre

Baracoa opens another window onto Cuba’s cooking. Fish simmered in coconut milk brings the island’s far east into focus, with tomato, aromatic peppers, herbs, and citrus enriching a gently flavored sauce.

La Gente

Coconut milk gives the broth body without a roux. Prepare the sauce before adding the fish and keep the heat gentle. Taste at the end so the lime brightens the dish while the seafood and coconut remain clear.

Sabor

Guantánamo cooks in coconut: fresh coconut milk, a sofrito of onion, pepper, garlic, and tomato, cumin and oregano, achiote for the color, bay, lime at the end, and the ají cachucha's perfume. Sweet from the coconut. Select peppers to suit your preferred heat level.

Spice DNA · Sweet high · Herb medium · Acid medium · Smoke low · Heat low

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the sofrito. Adds a savory garlic base.
Sazón Tropical. For the achiote color.
Cumin Ground. In the sauce.
Oregano Whole. In the sauce.
Bay Leaves Whole. In the sauce.
Black Pepper Ground. On the fish.
Onion Powder. With the fresh onion.
Cilantro. For the finish when the fresh is gone.

From your market: a whole snapper or two pounds of firm white fish, two fresh coconuts or two cans of full-fat coconut milk, an onion, a green pepper, tomatoes, limes, and green plantains for the bacán or the tostones. Badia does not sell the coconut. Baracoa grates its own and the can is forgiven.

Cocina

Pescado en leche de coco al estilo Baracoa

Fish in fresh coconut milk with a Cuban sofrito and lime. Baracoa's plate, the most Caribbean in Cuba.

Serves 4

2 lb firm white fish, in thick pieces, or a whole snapper
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and ½ tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
3 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil
½ tsp Badia Onion Powder
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp Badia Cumin, ground
½ tsp Badia Oregano, whole
1 Badia Bay Leaf, whole
1 tsp Badia Sazón Tropical
2 cans (13.5 oz each) full-fat coconut milk, or the milk of 2 fresh coconuts
¼ cup cilantro, chopped, or 1 tbsp Badia Cilantro flakes

Season the fish. Lime juice, salt, pepper. 20 minutes.
Sofrito. Warm the oil. Cook the onion and pepper with the garlic and onion powder until soft. Add the tomatoes, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, and sazón. Cook 5 minutes.
Coconut. Add the coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer. Do not boil hard.
Fish. Lay the fish in the sauce. Cover and simmer 10 to 12 minutes, until it flakes. Shake the pot; do not stir.
Finish. Cilantro. More lime at the table.
Serve over white rice with tostones, or with bacán if a baracoense is cooking. Cucurucho after, if the roadside is near.