Yuca con pescado is the Spanish-Bantu fusion of Equatoguinean cuisine in one plate — grilled fish (a West African tradition) with boiled cassava (Bantu) plus a Spanish-style sofrito-like onion-tomato relish.
Bite into a piece of grilled snapper — smoky crispy skin, tender flesh, garlic-and-lemon marinade penetrated. Pair with a forkful of boiled cassava — starchy, slightly sweet, soft. Top both with the onion-tomato relish — bright, tangy, piquant. The Spanish-style sofrito ties the Bantu cassava and West African grilled fish together. This is Equatoguinean Sunday lunch.
Grilling fish gives smoky depth. Sofrito-style relish (cooked onion+tomato in oil) is the Spanish-Mediterranean technique adapted with piri-piri.
Variations
With tilapia. With grouper. With added bell pepper. With more chili. Modern oven-baked version. With fried plantain alongside.
On the Palate
Where Yuca con Pescado sits in the Equatoguinean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 30 min active + 30 min waiting
- 14 min
Clean 2 whole fish (snapper, about 600 g each). Score sides.
- 222 min
Marinate fish with 6 minced garlic, juice of 2 lemons, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt; rest 20 min.
Watch outScore the fish to the bone before marinating — the cuts let the garlic-lemon soak in and keep the fillet from curling on the fire.
- 327 min
Peel and cube 1 kg cassava root. Boil in salted water 25 min until fork-tender. Drain.
- 416 min
Light a charcoal fire; grill fish 7 min per side until cooked through.
Watch outLeave the fish alone until it releases cleanly from the grill — flip it too soon and the skin tears and sticks to the grate.
- 512 min
Make relish: sauté 2 sliced onions in 2 tbsp olive oil 5 min. Add 2 chopped tomatoes, 1 piri-piri, 1 tsp vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt; cook 6 min.
Watch outCook the relish onions until soft and jammy, not browned — this is the base flavor, and scorched onion turns it bitter.
- 63 min
Plate: cassava on each plate; fish on top; relish ladled over.
- 71 min
Serve hot with lemon wedges.
