Summary: The best cod recipes have one thing in common: a good sauce. Here are 6 classic Spanish sauces to accompany cod loins: green, tomato, Biscayne, pil pil, pepper, and almond. Each with step-by-step instructions and tricks to ensure it's always perfect.
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Contents
The sauce makes the dish
Cod is a fish that craves sauce. Its gelatinous texture and intense flavor (in its salted and desalted version) make it the perfect partner for flavorful sauces. Furthermore, the natural gelatin of cod helps to emulsify and bind sauces naturally.
Golden rule: the sauce is made first, the cod is added at the end. Cod cooks in 10-12 minutes. If you add it from the beginning, it becomes dry and fibrous.
1. Cod in green sauce
Green sauce is the queen of fish sauces in Spain. Originating from the Basque Country, it combines parsley, garlic, broth, and olive oil in a bright green emulsion.
Ingredients (4 servings)
- 4 desalted cod loins
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 200 ml fish broth
- A bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 100 g peas (fresh or frozen)
- Extra virgin olive oil
Step by step
- Brown the sliced garlic in plenty of oil. Remove just as they begin to brown.
- Lower the heat, add the flour. Stir for 1 minute.
- Pour in the fish broth little by little, stirring to prevent lumps from forming.
- Add the peas and half of the parsley. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Place the cod loins skin-side up. Cook over low heat for 10-12 minutes, rocking the pan back and forth so the gelatin binds the sauce.
- Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve immediately.
2. Cod in tomato sauce
The most homemade version and the one children like the most. Tomato with a base of sofrito, without acidity.
Step by step
- Sauté finely chopped onion in oil (10 min over low heat).
- Add 2 chopped garlic cloves, cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in 500 g grated natural tomato. Add a pinch of sugar to cut the acidity.
- Cook the tomato for 15-20 minutes over medium-low heat until it darkens and loses water.
- Place the cod loins over the sauce. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-12 minutes.
Tip: serve with white rice to soak up the sauce. Sublime.
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3. Cod in Biscayne sauce
The great Basque sauce: rehydrated choricero peppers with caramelized onion. A dish with centuries of history. See full recipe for cod a la bilbaína.
Summarized step by step
- Rehydrate 6-8 choricero peppers in hot water (30 min). Scrape out the flesh with a spoon.
- Poach 3 large chopped onions in oil over very low heat (30-40 min). They should be almost disintegrated.
- Mix the pepper flesh with the poached onion. Blend.
- Cook the sauce for 10 more minutes. Adjust salt.
- Place the cod loins in the sauce. 10-12 minutes over low heat.
4. Cod in pepper sauce
Simpler than Biscayne, it uses piquillo peppers that don't require prior preparation.
Step by step
- Sauté chopped onion in oil (10 min). Add 2 garlic cloves.
- Add a can of drained piquillo peppers (250 g).
- Cook for 5 minutes. Add 100 ml of fish broth.
- Blend the sauce until it is fine and smooth.
- Strain the sauce if you want a finer texture. Add the cod loins. 10-12 minutes.
This sauce is also perfect for stuffed peppers with cod.
5. Cod in almond sauce
A recipe with Andalusian and Catalan roots. Almonds give body and a nutty flavor.
Step by step
- Toast 50 g raw almonds in a dry pan. Set aside.
- In the same pan, brown 2 slices of bread (crustless) in oil. Set aside.
- Sauté chopped onion and 3 garlic cloves (10 min).
- Blend: almonds + fried bread + sofrito + 200 ml fish broth. You should get a thick and creamy sauce.
- Pour the sauce into the pan, cook for 5 minutes. Place the cod loins. 10-12 minutes over low heat.
Variant: substitute almonds with hazelnuts for a more intense flavor.
6. Cod pil pil style
Technically not a sauce but an emulsion: the gelatin from the cod emulsifies with olive oil flavored with garlic to create a creamy and unctuous sauce. See full step-by-step recipe.
It is the most technical preparation but also the most spectacular. The secret: very low heat, patience, and constant rocking of the pan.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest sauce for cod?
Tomato sauce: basic ingredients, simple technique, and almost infallible results. Green sauce is the second easiest.
Can the sauce be prepared in advance?
Yes, and it is recommended. All sauces can be made the day before. The cod is always added at the moment of serving (10-12 min before).
Why doesn't my green sauce thicken?
Green sauce thickens due to the gelatin from the cod. If it doesn't thicken: 1) the cod doesn't have enough gelatin (use quality cod), 2) the heat is too high (lower it), 3) you're not rocking the pan enough.
Do these sauces work with other fish?
Green sauce, tomato sauce, pepper sauce, and almond sauce work with any white fish (hake, monkfish, sea bass). Biscayne and pil pil are specific to salted cod.
Related guides
All these sauces start with good cod. Discover our premium desalted cod loins, with the perfect gelatin to always thicken your sauces, at Bacalalo.
