🐟 Bacalao a la vizcaína

Name: Bacalao a la vizcaína
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Spain · Basque Country
Ingredients: 600 g salt cod loins, desalted for 36–48 hours; 8 dried choricero peppers (or 2 tbsp choricero pepper paste); 3 onions, thinly sliced; 3 garlic cloves, sliced; 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped; 6 tbsp olive oil, salt if needed

Origin: Spain · Basque Country

405kcal

per serving · 300 g

135kcal

per 100 g

42 gProtein14 g / 100 g

18 gFat6 g / 100 g

18 gCarbs6 g / 100 g

Bacalao a la vizcaína is a Basque dish of desalted salt cod braised in a deep red sauce made from dried choricero peppers, slowly cooked onions, garlic, olive oil and tomato. The sauce is sweet, earthy and only mildly spicy, and the cod stays in large, juicy flakes. It is served hot in an earthenware dish, usually as a main course with boiled potatoes.

Diets

✓

No pork

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Low-carb6 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein14 g protein per 100 g — 41% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: salt cod

Not veganbecause of: salt cod

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Fish

What it is made of

salt coddried pepperoniongarlicolive oiltomato

Recipe

4 servings120 min

Ingredients

600 g salt cod loins, desalted for 36–48 hours
8 dried choricero peppers (or 2 tbsp choricero pepper paste)
3 onions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
6 tbsp olive oil, salt if needed

Method

Soak the cod in cold water in the fridge for 36–48 hours, changing the water every 8 hours. Soak the dried peppers in warm water for 1 hour.
Cook the onions and garlic in 4 tbsp olive oil over very low heat for 45 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the tomatoes and cook 15 minutes more.
Scrape the flesh from the soaked peppers and add it with a ladle of their soaking water. Simmer 10 minutes, then blend and sieve into a smooth sauce.
Cut the cod into portions and fry skin side up in 2 tbsp oil for 2 minutes per side.
Lay the cod in the sauce, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Taste for salt before seasoning and serve hot.

How to make it lighter

Cook the onions in 2 tablespoons of oil instead of 4 — 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal — and add a splash of water if they catch.
Skip frying the cod and poach it directly in the sauce.
Serve with steamed green beans or a salad instead of potatoes for a lighter plate.

History

The dish is named after Biscay (Vizcaya), the Basque province around Bilbao, where salt cod has been a staple since Basque fishermen sailed to the North Atlantic cod grounds. Its signature sauce relies on choricero peppers, which arrived in Spain after the voyages to the Americas. Today it is a classic of Basque home cooking, especially during Lent and at Christmas.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →