Name: Viuda de pescado — bocachico and cassava with broth
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients: 1.2 kg fresh bocachico, commercially cleaned and scaled, whole or in thick cross-cut pieces; 800 g peeled cassava (yuca), cut into 6 cm chunks; 120 g scallions, sliced; reserve some green tops for serving; 100 g white onion, sliced; 100 g mild fresh sweet ají, seeded and chopped; 12 g garlic, crushed or minced; 6 g fine salt, divided; 1 g whole allspice berries; 20 ml lime juice; 1.6 litres water, plus a little hot water if needed; 10 g fresh cilantro, optional

Wide coastal table with bocachico and cassava served beside a separate bowl of clear broth.

Region San Estanislao de Kostka, Bolívar, in Colombia’s Caribbean region

Category Everyday fish main dish; poached fish and cassava

Yield 4 servings

Prep time About 25 minutes

Active time About 35 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Viuda de pescado — bocachico and cassava with broth

Gently poached bocachico and yuca, served with their aromatic cooking broth

In San Estanislao de Kostka, Bolívar, viuda de pescado is documented as an everyday main dish built around bocachico, yuca and a seasoned broth. The fish and cassava are served on a platter, while the cooking liquid goes into a separate bowl. This arrangement is central to the local preparation: the broth is part of the meal, but it does not turn the plated fish and yuca into a conventional fish soup.

The regional recipe records household ingredients and a short method but no reliable metric quantities or elapsed times. This four-serving adaptation uses fresh, commercially cleaned bocachico and cassava. It seasons the broth first, cooks the cassava until nearly tender, then poaches the fish gently so it stays intact. Bocachico has many fine bones, so handle and serve it carefully; no whole-fish portion should be assumed boneless.

Other Colombian viudas use different methods and ingredients. An El Banco version layers salted fish with cassava, plantain and squash over a vegetable base; a Simití preparation steams salted, dried fish with bijao leaves; and an Isla Fuerte version uses coconut milk. Those regional preparations remain distinct here. For this San Estanislao adaptation, use fresh fish rather than attempting home salting or drying.

Ingredients

Fish and cassava

1.2 kg fresh bocachico, commercially cleaned and scaled, whole or in thick cross-cut pieces
800 g peeled cassava (yuca), cut into 6 cm chunks

Seasoned broth

120 g scallions, sliced; reserve some green tops for serving
100 g white onion, sliced
100 g mild fresh sweet ají, seeded and chopped
12 g garlic, crushed or minced
6 g fine salt, divided
1 g whole allspice berries
20 ml lime juice
1.6 litres water, plus a little hot water if needed
10 g fresh cilantro, optional

Method

Handle the fish safely Keep the fish refrigerated until cooking and separate from ready-to-eat foods. Do not rinse raw fish; pat it dry with paper towels and discard them. Season lightly with a small pinch of the salt and a little lime juice. Wash hands, utensils and the work surface after handling raw fish.
Prepare the cassava and aromatics Cut the peeled cassava into even chunks and remove any firm, woody core running through the center. Slice the scallions and white onion; seed and chop the sweet ají. Crush or mince the garlic. Keep a little scallion green and the optional cilantro aside for serving.
Season the broth Pour the water into a heavy pot and add the remaining salt, scallions, onion, ají, garlic, allspice and remaining lime juice. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for 5 minutes so the broth takes on the aromatics. Taste; it should be savory and lightly tangy rather than sharply acidic.
Cook the cassava until nearly tender Add the cassava and keep the broth at a gentle simmer, partly covered, for 18–25 minutes. Turn the pieces once if needed. A thin knife should enter the outside easily while the chunks still hold their shape. If the pot becomes too shallow to cook the cassava evenly, add a little hot water.
Poach the bocachico Lay the fish carefully over the cassava. Cover the pot and poach gently for 8–15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pieces. Avoid a rolling boil, which can break the fish apart. Check the thickest part with a food thermometer, away from bone; it must reach at least 63°C. The flesh should be opaque and separate into moist flakes.
Plate the fish, cassava and broth Lift the fish and cassava onto a warm platter with a slotted spoon or broad spatula. Ladle the aromatic broth into a separate serving bowl. Stir the reserved scallion greens and optional cilantro into the broth, then taste and adjust salt or lime. If serving a whole fish, point out the fine bones and remove large pin bones carefully before serving to children.
Serve and store Serve the platter hot with the broth alongside so diners can spoon it over the fish and cassava as they like. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within two hours and use within 3–4 days. Reheat the fish and broth until they reach 74°C throughout; reheat gently to help the fish keep its shape.

Practical guidance

Practical

Nutrition per serving

These rounded estimates use the measured cassava and a generic lean-fish composition, with an estimated edible yield from the whole bocachico and the stated salt. The fish yield varies with bones and trimming, and the broth may be consumed in different amounts, so the figures are approximate.

Practical guidance

Choose fresh bocachico. The documented San Estanislao recipe names bocachico. Ask for a fresh fish that has been kept cold and cleaned by a reputable seller. If it is unavailable, a fresh firm-fleshed freshwater fish can work, though the flavour and bones will differ. Do not substitute salted or sun-dried fish without a separately validated method. Keep the broth at a quiet simmer. A vigorous boil can scatter the fish into the cassava and make it difficult to lift out intact. Start checking thin portions at 8 minutes and thicker pieces later; temperature and opaque, flaky flesh are better cues than a fixed time. Check the cassava. Choose firm cassava without soft, dark or mouldy areas. Remove the woody center if present. The pieces should be tender but not collapsing when the fish is done; lift them out promptly if they soften first. Allergens and safety. This recipe contains fish, a major food allergen. Keep it separate from food for anyone with a fish allergy and prevent cross-contact. Store raw fish cold, do not rinse it, and cook the thickest section to at least 63°C. Bocachico has many bones; eat slowly and check portions carefully. Chill leftovers within two hours and reheat to 74°C throughout.

Final notes

Remember 1: Cook the cassava until nearly tender before adding the fish, so both finish without the fish breaking apart. Remember 2: Serve the broth in its own bowl and watch for bocachico’s fine bones.

Nutrition per serving

Serving basis: One quarter of the fish and cassava with some broth
Calories: About 500 kcal
Carbohydrate: About 77 g
Protein: About 34 g
Fat: About 5 g
Fibre: About 3 g
Sodium: About 730 mg

Viuda de pescado — bocachico and cassava with broth

Ingredients

Fish and cassava

Seasoned broth

Method

Practical

Nutrition per serving

Practical guidance

Final notes

Nutrition per serving

Colombian National Dishes

Bagre estopiao — Mompox salted catfish with eggs

Bocachicos rellenos asados al carbón — Mompox charcoal-grilled stuffed fish

Pebre de gallina — Mompox-style hen stew