Spanish cuisine · Fish & Seafood

Bacalao a la Riojana

Salt cod over sliced potatoes in the oven, under a dark red sauce of choricero pepper, onions and tomato.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 600 g desalted salt cod (bacalao)
• 2 dried choricero peppers (or 2 tbsp pepper paste)
• 700 g waxy potatoes
• 3 onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 400 g passata
• 1 red pepper
• 80 ml olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the choricero peppers in hot water for 30 min. and scrape the flesh off the skin with a spoon; pat the salt cod dry and cut into four pieces.
2. Peel the potatoes, slice them 5 mm thin and cook in a pan in half the olive oil over medium heat for 10–12 min. until soft but not browned; season with salt and layer into a baking dish.
3. Braise the finely diced onions, chopped garlic and pepper cut into strips in the remaining oil over low heat for 15 min. until very soft.
4. Stir in the choricero paste, passata and sugar and let it reduce uncovered for 10 min. until the sauce is thick; season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Set the pieces of salt cod skin-side up on the potatoes, cover completely with the sauce and bake in the oven preheated to 190 °C for 15 min.
6. Let it rest briefly out of the oven so the juices settle, and serve straight from the dish with white bread.