A not so widely known but delicious recipe is the Puerto Rican Berenjena Con Bacalao. This is another super delicious way to eat eggplant and delicious salted cod. Another staple dish in Puerto Rico.
One of my all-time favorite recipes is the Puerto Rican Berenjena Con Bacalao. I remember when I was in school, my grandma would make this for me almost every Wednesday with guineitos sancochaos.
The bacalao with the berenjena is a salted cod and eggplant that are stewed together to make a delicious recipe.
This is one of the recipes that are very popular to have during the holy week along with a Puerto Rican crab rice, or crispy fried tilapia with flour and the Puerto Rican serenata de bacalao.
You can serve this stewed bacalao over vegetables like potatoes or yuca. But I also like to serve in green plantain cups.
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Why This Recipe Works
- This is a simple recipe that anyone can make.
- Another way to make eggplant that will taste good!
Recipe Ingredients
- Salted codfish- I used 1 pound of salted codfish. If you cant find it then you can use salted haddock and pollock.
- Vegetables- I used one large eggplant, half of a green pepper and 1 yellow onion.
- Sofrito- I used 2 tablespoons of sofrito which you buy in any latin market or make a batch of your own.
- Tomato sauce- I use tomato sauce but you can use tomato paste.
- Oil- I use vegetable oil but you can use your whichever oil you normally use for cooking.
How to make Berenjena Con Bacalao
- Photo 1: First you need to desalt the cod by rinsing and then cooking it. Some people do this process differently by desalting overnight and changing the water a couple of times. But I find that rinsing and cooking is the quickest way to do it and I always get the same amount of saltiness left in my codfish. Rinse and cook for 15 minutes.
- Photo 2: Shred into smaller pieces. Since it is more of a preference feel free to cut as large or small as you like. A very important step is to make sure that there are no bones in and remove if any.
- Photo 3: Peel and cut your eggplant into long strips about a half-inch thick. Cut it right before using it because after peeling your eggplant will quickly start turning a brownish color. Even though it is perfectly fine to eat, it won’t look as appetizing.
- Photo 4: Now time to cook the eggplant by adding your oil and eggplant into a pan for 10 minutes. Some people choose to boil it but I prefer the pan method because of the lovely flavor it gets when it is caramelized. Some pieces even get a little charred and the flavors are amazing.
- Photo 5: After your eggplant has changed in color, now it’s time to add your green peppers and onions along with your codfish. Give it a good mix and then you add your sofrito and tomato sauce.
- Photo 6: Finally mix everything well and cook for another 3 minutes and enjoy.
Recipe Tip
- This recipe is perfect to make ahead on a busy week. You can make ahead the salted codfish by desalting, cooking and storing it in the fridge for no more than 3 days. You can also make the whole recipe and store it in the fridge for 3 days.
More Stewed Recipes
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Eggplant with Salted Codfish | Berenjena y Bacalao
Ingredients
- 1 pound salted codfish
- 1 large eggplant
- ½ cup oil
- 1 large onion
- ½ green pepper
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons sofrito
Instructions
- Rinse your salted codfish to remove the coating of salt. Cook the codfish for 15 minutes and drain. After it has cooled enough to handle shred into smaller pieces as big or as small as you like. While you do this make sure you check for any bones that were left in and remove any.
- In a large pan set it to medium heat. Add your oil and the eggplant. Cook for about 10 minutes or until it has changed color. Make sure to stir it around occasionally to avoid burning.
- Now add in your green pepper and onion. Mix and cook for about 3 minutes. Finally add your codfish, tomato sauce and sofrito. Give it a good stir to make sure everything is well mixed and cook for another 3 minutes. Serve and enjoy.
Stephenie says
Your welcome! I hope it turn out delicious.
Anonymous says
I learned from my mother….but wanted a review about the recipe,before getting involve; thank you!