Cuban recipe

Cuban Completa with Stewed Salt Cod, White Rice, Boiled Boniato and Avocado Salad

Name: Cuban Completa with Stewed Salt Cod, White Rice, Boiled Boniato and Avocado Salad
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 600 g desalted salt cod, drained and boned, in large pieces; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large onion, in strips; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 green bell pepper, in strips; 1 red bell pepper, in strips; 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; ½ cup dry wine; 1 bay leaf (optional); Pepper to taste; 1 tablespoon chopped parsley for serving; 2 cups rice; 4 cups water; 2 tablespoons oil; 1 garlic clove; 1 teaspoon salt; 3 medium pale-fleshed boniatos (about 700 g); 1 teaspoon salt for the water; 2 ripe avocados, sliced; Juice of 1 lemon; ½ red onion, thinly sliced (optional); 2 tablespoons olive oil; Salt to taste

Salt cod stewed in a Creole tomato and pepper sauce with fluffy white rice, boiled boniato and avocado salad. Serves 4.

CiberCubaNovember 11, 2026

AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Preparation30 min
Cooking50 min
Total time1 h 20 min
Servings4 servings
DifficultyMedium

The Cuban Completa is the all-in-one combination plate of the Creole table: the stew in the center, fluffy white rice alongside, and root vegetables and fresh vegetables to balance it out. In this version, the star is Cuban-style salt cod, stewed in large flakes with tomato, onion, garlic and peppers.

The boiled boniato, with its pale flesh and mild sweetness, contrasts with the saltiness of the cod, and the avocado salad with a citrus dressing freshens up the whole plate. It is a Sunday lunch, a Nochebuena meal, or any day you want to eat big, with each component cooked separately and served together.

Method

Stewed salt cod

Start with 600 g of cod that has already been desalted and drained. Check that no bones or scales remain, pat dry with a paper towel and cut into large pieces without breaking them up.
Heat the olive oil in a wide pot and sauté the onion and peppers for about 7-8 minutes until softened. Add the garlic for the last minute, without letting it burn.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, the optional bay leaf and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until a thick sauce forms. Add the wine and reduce for about 3 minutes. Add a little hot water if the sauce dries out too much.
Place the cod in the sauce, cover and stew at a gentle simmer for approximately 8-15 minutes depending on thickness, carefully turning it over if needed. Check for 63 °C in the center, or that it is completely opaque and separates into flakes. Taste the sauce after cooking the fish and adjust the salt only if it needs it. Remove the bay leaf.

White rice

Heat the oil for the rice with the garlic clove, without burning it, and remove the garlic. Add the rice, stir for a minute and add the water and salt. Bring to a boil.
When the liquid reduces to the level of the rice, lower the heat to the minimum, cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, until tender. Rest for 5 minutes covered and fluff the grains with a fork.

Boiled boniato

Peel the boniatos, cut into pieces of about 5 cm and cover with cold water and the teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until a fork goes in without resistance. Drain and keep warm.

Avocado salad

Halve the avocados, remove the pit and skin, and cut into slices. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil and salt, and add the optional red onion just before serving.

Assembly

Serve the hot rice, the cod with its sauce and the boniato together with the fresh avocado salad. Sprinkle the parsley over the cod.

Tips and variations

Desalting: this recipe starts with salt cod that has already been desalted. If you buy it salted, follow the supplier's instructions according to the thickness of the pieces: not all of them are ready in 24 hours. Always soak it in the refrigerator, with plenty of cold water and the water changes indicated. To check the salt, cook a small portion first; do not taste it raw. The prior desalting is not included in the recipe's 80 minutes.

Weight and bones: the 600 g refers to cod that has already been desalted, drained and boneless. There is no fixed equivalence with the weight of the salted cod, because it changes with hydration and trimming. Check the pieces and remove the bones before cooking.

Cooking and salt: stew the fish at a gentle simmer, without breaking it up or stirring too much. Check for 63 °C in the center, or that the flesh is completely opaque and separates easily into flakes. Taste the sauce once the fish is cooked before adding salt.

Wine: to omit the alcohol, replace the ½ cup of wine with the same amount of unsalted broth or water. Reducing the wine does not guarantee that all the alcohol is removed.

Sides: cook the rice separately. Boil the boniato in enough water to cover it until tender. Dress the avocado just before serving and keep it fresh, without warming it with the stew.

Storage: refrigerate the cod, rice and boniato promptly in shallow containers and eat them preferably within 1-2 days. Reheat the cooked foods until they reach 74 °C in the center. Prepare the avocado salad at the last moment.

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Cuban Completa with stewed salt cod, white rice, boiled boniato and avocado salad

Cuban Completa with Stewed Salt Cod, White Rice, Boiled Boniato and Avocado Salad