Cod with Samfaina Recipe: Hearty Catalan Vegetable Stew 2026

Cod with samfaina is a Catalan classic that pairs flaky, lightly fried salt cod with samfaina, a slow-cooked vegetable stew of tomato, peppers, onion, eggplant and zucchini. It is the kind of dish that fills the kitchen with a sweet, roasted aroma long before it reaches the table.

Samfaina is a mix of Mediterranean garden vegetables, made with fresh produce of the warm season like tomatoes, peppers, onions and eggplant. Traditionally the cod had to be desalted over one or two days, but today it is easy to find it already at the salt point and ready to cook.

For this dish the cod is lightly floured and fried only halfway, then finished in the pot with the samfaina so the flavors mingle and complement each other. It is a feast for holidays and a living testament to the rich Catalan cooking that has endured over time.

Ingredients for Cod with Samfaina

Serves 4

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 1 zucchini
• 1 eggplant
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
• 6 plum tomatoes
• 50 g wheat flour
• 4 cod loins at the salt point (about 800 g)

How to Make Cod with Samfaina Step by Step

1. Chop all the vegetables

Start by peeling 2 garlic cloves and chopping them into small pieces. Then peel 1 onion and cut it into fine little squares. Next, cut 1 zucchini, 1 eggplant, 1 red bell pepper and 1 green bell pepper into pieces of a similar size.

2. Sauté the garlic and onion

In a saucepan, heat 20 ml of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic and onion first with a little salt for a few minutes, until the onion turns translucent.

3. Add the rest of the vegetables and sauté them

Add the rest of the vegetables, half a teaspoon of dried rosemary and a little more salt. Sauté the vegetables over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time so they do not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.

4. Grate the tomatoes

Meanwhile, wash 6 plum tomatoes and grate them, discarding the skin.

5. Add the grated tomatoes and keep cooking

Add the grated tomatoes to the sautéed vegetables and cook the samfaina over low heat for about 15 minutes more, until most of the tomato water has evaporated.

6. Flour the cod

While the samfaina cooks, put 50 g of wheat flour on a plate and flour 4 cod loins at the salt point (about 800 g in total).

7. Fry the cod

In a frying pan, heat 30 ml of extra virgin olive oil and fry the cod on the skinless side for 1 minute. Then turn it over and fry it on the skin side for another minute.

8. Add the cod to the pot with the samfaina

Add the cod to the samfaina and cook everything together for 5 minutes more, so the cod finishes cooking and absorbs the flavors of the samfaina.

9. Serve the cod with samfaina fresh from the pot

Serve the cod with samfaina freshly made, accompanied by bread for dipping.

Tips for the Best Cod with Samfaina

Use fresh seasonal vegetables

Samfaina is built on fresh produce of the warm season, so choose ripe tomatoes and firm peppers, eggplant and zucchini. Cutting everything to a similar size helps the vegetables soften evenly.

Skip the desalting step

Buying cod already at the salt point saves the traditional one to two days of soaking and keeps the dish weeknight-friendly. It is ready to flour and fry straight from the package.

Fry the cod only halfway

The cod is floured lightly and fried just one minute per side, then finished in the pot with the samfaina. That short finish lets the fish soak up the stew without drying out or falling apart.

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