Spain Bacalao a la Vizcaina (Basque-Style Codfish Stew)
Bacalao a la vizcaína uses one of Spain’s staple ingredients: bacalao, or salted cod. This dish complements the salty cod with a spicy and complex vizcaina sauce, a specialty most associated with this dish but also used in various other seafood recipes. There is a vibrant debate among Spanish cooks as to whether the red color of the vizcaina sauce originally came from tomatoes or red pepper. While peppers were available in Spain for years before tomatoes arrived from the New World, both versions of the dish bring vibrant color and flavor.
Prep Time
15 minutes
+ 48 hours resting
+ 48 hours resting
Cook Time
25 minutes
Total Time
48 hours 40 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- 2 large loins salted cod
- 3 dried, mild red chile peppers, choriceros or similar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 cup (150 g) onion, diced
- 2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) flour
- 2 cups (500 ml) fish stock
- 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
Directions
- Place salted cod in a large bowl and cover with water.
- Soak the fish for 36–48 hours, refreshing the water every 12 hours.
- In the final 12 hours, add the dried red peppers to the water.
- Drain the water and pat the cod and peppers dry.
- Remove the skin, stem, and seeds from the rehydrated red pepper.
- In a large pan or wok over medium heat, heat olive oil.
- Sauté the onions until they begin to brown, then add the red pepper, tomatoes, and garlic.
- Cook for a few minutes before sprinkling the pan with flour.
- Mix thoroughly and cook for a few minutes.
- Slowly pour fish stock into the pan, stirring constantly.
- When the sauce is thick, add the cod to the pan and mix to coat.
- Serve hot.
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