Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Dominica Sancoche
Dominica's Creole-season saltfish sancoche: flaked salt cod simmered in a curried coconut milk sauce with seasoning peppers and okra, served with provisions.
Dominican · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~411 cal · 24g protein · 17g carbs · 30g fat · 5g fiber · 7g sugars · 20g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Sancoche is a Creole-season favourite in Dominica, and while the name is shared across the Caribbean for hearty provision soups, the Dominican (Dominica) version is distinctively a saltfish dish. Salt cod is soaked and boiled to tame the salt, then simmered in a fragrant sauce of brightened with curry powder and turmeric, seasoning peppers, thyme, and chive.
It is a dish that shows off the island's Creole seasoning tradition, gentle with spice but deep in aroma, finished with a whole hot pepper for perfume and a handful of for body. Some cooks cook the right in; others serve it over ton ton (pounded or ) or with boiled ground on the side.
Warming and quick to put together once the saltfish is desalted, sancoche is the kind of real Creole cooking Dominicans make to share with family and friends when Creole season comes around.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 lb salt cod (saltfish)
1 1/2 cups
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 seasoning peppers (or sweet pepper), chopped
2 tbsp chive, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
6 pods , sliced
1 pepper, left whole
2 tbsp vegetable oil
to taste black pepper
Instructions
1
Soak the salt cod overnight in cold water, changing the water a few times, then boil in fresh water for about 15 minutes until it flakes. Drain, cool, and flake, discarding skin and bones.
2
Heat the oil and add the curry powder and turmeric, stirring for a minute to bloom the spices.
✎ Chef’s note
Frying the curry powder in oil for a moment before the liquid goes in wakes up its flavour and keeps it from tasting raw.
3
Add the onion, garlic, seasoning peppers, chive, and thyme and cook a few minutes until soft.
4
Pour in the coconut milk, add the flaked saltfish, okra, and the whole scotch bonnet, and season with black pepper.
5
Simmer gently for about 5 to 10 minutes until the sauce thickens and the okra is tender. Lift out the pepper and serve with ton ton or boiled provisions.
Roseau Creole-season tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Roseau. Roseau is a rainforest capital where callaloo soup is thickened with dasheen leaf and coconut, and land crab is a delicacy in season. Dominica's cooking uses the island's abundant provisions: breadfruit, dasheen, plantain, and river fish.
🗺️
Dominica. Dominica is the only Eastern Caribbean island with a surviving pre-Columbian Indigenous population, the Kalinago, whose territory on the Atlantic coast was set aside in 1903 and formally renamed in 2015. Cassava processing is still demonstrated there, and the island's rivers, rainfall and volcanic soil are what make ground provisions rather than sugar the basis of the cooking.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Dominica
Callaloo and CrabDasheen (taro) leaves simmered with coconut, aromatics, and land crab into a lush green one-pot.
Fried Bakes with ZabocaGolden fried bakes split and filled with seasoned mashed avocado (zaboca), a simple, satisfying vegan breakfast from the Nature Isle.
Dominica Guava CheeseA firm, chewy guava paste cooked down and cut into sugared squares, a confection traditional to Dominica.
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Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Dominica meal
Bush TeaDrink
Dominica Guava CheeseDessert
Dominica BouyonLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Dominica Sancoche?
Dominica's Creole-season saltfish sancoche: flaked salt cod simmered in a curried coconut milk sauce with seasoning peppers and okra, served with provisions.
Where does Dominica Sancoche come from?
Dominica Sancoche is a Dominican dish from Roseau, Dominica.
Can Dominica Sancoche be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Dominica Sancoche recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Dominica Sancoche safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Dominica Sancoche take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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