Canonical recipe of Basque cuisine, the pil pil, which already tastes wonderful in cod, takes even more flight when it is made with cocochas, well allows the sauce to emulsify much more.
Beyond fearing this recipe —which has no science, although something from tomorrow— that you will have ready in half an hourwhat we must do is take the bull by the horns or, rather, the cod by the cocochas.
The kokotxas, if we see it in Basque, is the lower part of the jaw of the fish, a area filled with gelatin and collagen but tender that will bind the sauce.
Although in this case we are going to make them with cod, you can also make hake cheeks, which are finer but also more expensive. In any case, the price of fresh cocochas is expensive, since there is only one per animal.
With what to accompany the cod cocochas al pil pil
Cocochas are a pretty hefty dishbut we could first prepare some grilled squid, some classic gildas or bet on a starter such as the scorpion fish cake or the Donostiarra spider crab to continue with the Basque touch.
In DAP | The 46 best cod recipes to enjoy the traditional Easter fish
In DAP | How to make hake in green sauce: classic Basque recipe
We desalt the cocochas in cold water for six hours, if they are not fresh. We wash the shells and remove the remains of skins, profiling them.
Laminate the garlic and cut the chillies into slices, which we will brown in abundant extra virgin olive oil until they are well browned. Add a handful of chopped parsley and set aside, letting the oil cool down.
Place the seasoned cocochas in the warm oil in which we have fried the garlic and chilli peppers, keeping it over a very low heat, letting them release the gelatin and stirring at the same time so that the sauce begins to bind, noticing how the oil starts to turn white.
When the sauce begins to bind, add the garlic, the chilli and a handful of chopped parsley, we finish flirting by moving the pan —never with a spoon or spatula— and serve very hot.