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Bacalao al ajoarriero
Salt cod with garlic and pepper
Bacalao al ajoarriero: flaked salt cod cooked with garlic, peppers and tomato, finished with egg
The muleteers who carried goods over the mountain roads into Pamplona, the arrieros, lived on salt cod because it kept for weeks, and the garlicky way they cooked it took their name. Today ajoarriero is ordered in the bars around Pamplona's Plaza del Castillo, especially during San Fermín, and served in small earthenware dishes with bread. The Navarrese version is red with peppers, tomato and dried choricero pepper, and many cooks stir in egg at the end. Chef's tip: taste the cod after soaking and only salt the dish at the very end, if at all.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 14 oz salt codsoaked 36–48 hours in the fridge, water changed 3–4 times
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 4 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 1 green pepperdiced
- 1 red pepperdiced
- 7 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp choricero pepper pasteor 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 eggsbeaten
- 1 dried guindilla chilli (optional)crumbled
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Drain the soaked 14 oz salt cod. Put it in a pan of cold water, heat until the water just trembles (don't boil) and take it off the heat after 2 minutes. Lift out the fish, remove skin and bones and flake it finely with your fingers.
10 minStep 2: Heat the 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a wide earthenware dish or frying pan over a medium-low heat. Cook the 1 onion and 4 cloves garlic for 8 minutes until soft and golden, adding the 1 dried guindilla chilli if you like heat.
8 minStep 3: Add the 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper and cook for 10 minutes until soft and sweet.
10 minStep 4: Stir in the 7 oz crushed tomatoes and 1 tbsp choricero pepper paste and cook for 8 minutes until thick, the oil starts to separate and the colour is a deep brick red.
8 minStep 5: Add the flaked cod and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until it is hot through, opaque and has soaked up the sauce.
5 minStep 6: Turn the heat to low, pour in the 2 eggs and stir gently for 1–2 minutes until just set and creamy. A common mistake is leaving it on the heat too long: the egg goes rubbery and the cod dries out.
2 minStep 7: Taste, add salt only if needed, scatter with 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and serve straight from the dish with bread.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bacalao al ajoarriero take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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