AI-generated
Bacalao a la vizcaína — cod in Basque onion and choricero sauce
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Source: https://recipheon.com/en/recipes/main-dishes/bacalao-a-la-vizcaina-cod-in-basque-onion-and-choricero-sauce
About this recipe
Bacalao a la vizcaína is Basque cod in a velvety sauce of onions, garlic and choricero pepper pulp. Slowly softened onions give it natural sweetness, while choricero adds a deep brick-red color and mild pepper flavor. The fish cooks gently in the blended sauce to keep its juicy, easily separating flakes. This home version serves four and uses cod purchased already desalted and chilled, plus prepared pepper pulp. Allow about 1 hour and 15 minutes; this time does not include desalting or thawing the fish.
Ingredients
Cod and serving
800 g raw salted cod loins, already desalted and chilled, not frozen, with skin and without bones, 4 portions of about 200 g; weighed after draining
4 g fresh parsley, weighed after removing thick stems
up to 2 g salt for final seasoning to taste
Onion and pepper sauce
300 g peeled red onions
300 g peeled white onions
16 g peeled garlic
60 g prepared choricero pepper pulp from a jar, without added oil, without tomatoes, skins or seeds
60 g extra-virgin olive oil; all of it stays in the sauce
200 ml water, all added to the sauce
Steps
Use already-desalted, chilled cod that is ready to cook; the recipe starts with the fish in this state. Pat the four portions, about 3–4 cm thick, dry and remove any remaining bones you can feel with fish tweezers. Thinly slice both types of onion, chop the garlic and finely chop the parsley, reserving it for serving. Prepare a wide, deep pan with a lid, about 28 cm in diameter, that holds the fish in a single layer.
Pour all the oil into the pan and heat over medium-low heat. Add both types of onion, stir and cook with the lid on for about 25–30 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The onions should become very soft and sweet, with at most lightly golden edges; reduce the heat if they brown quickly. Do not rush this stage, because soft onions are the foundation of a smooth sauce.
Add the garlic to the soft onions and stir over low heat for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add all the choricero pulp, mix thoroughly through the onions and heat for about 2 minutes. Pour in the measured water, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 5 minutes to combine the flavors.
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully blend the sauce with an immersion blender, keeping the head below the surface so the hot sauce does not splatter. The sauce should be smooth and fluid enough to coat the fish. Return the pan to low heat and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.
AI-generated Arrange the four cod portions skin-side down in a single layer and spoon a few tablespoons of sauce from the pan over each one. Wait for the gentle simmer to return, cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook over low heat for about 12–15 minutes. The sauce should move gently and the fish should be cooked through and separate softly into flakes; thicker portions may need a few minutes longer. Instead of turning the delicate fish, spoon sauce over it from time to time.
Taste the sauce only after the cod has cooked, because desalted fish still contributes some salt. If needed, add some of the measured salt until the flavor is balanced. Transfer one cod portion to each plate with its skin, divide up all the sauce and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately while the fish is juicy and hot.
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