Chef Isabel
Abanico Ibérico a la Plancha
Extremadura's dehesa gives us this fan-shaped, marbled rib cut: salt it at the last moment, lay it on a fierce plancha, and count in seconds so the centre stays juicy.
Culinary Explorer
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Bacalao Ajoarriero Navarro
Created by
Navarra’s muleteer salt cod is hand-torn, never chopped, then folded through a slow tomato and choricero pepper sofrito cooked nearly dry, so every juicy flake carries the sauce.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
One Pot
24 hr 30 min
Active Time
55 min cook•25 hr 25 min total
Yield4 servings
Bacalao ajoarriero Navarro is Navarra’s red, garlicky salt cod, the arrieros’ preserved fish brought to the pan with tomato and dried choricero pepper. Here the cod stays in irregular flakes and the sauce cooks down around it. It isn’t the potato-bound mash that carries the same name farther south.
The point that decides the dish is dryness. I cook the onion and green pepper slowly, reduce the tomato until the oil returns around the edges, then add cod that has been patted properly dry. Wet cod turns the sauce soupy. Hard cooking tightens the fish. Tear it by hand, fold it through the reduced sofrito, and stop as soon as there’s no loose liquid in the pan. The margin beside mine says simply, cod last.
If dry salt cod is difficult to find, use refrigerated desalted salt cod and skip the soaking; it tastes a little milder, but the dish remains itself. Jarred choricero pepper pulp is also a proper pantry shortcut. If you can find only dried ñoras, use four and expect a sweeter, slightly less deep pepper flavour. No hace falta haber pisado España. Reduce the sauce before the fish goes in, and siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Ajoarriero takes its name from the arrieros, the muleteers whose road food relied on salt cod, dried peppers, garlic, and oil because all survived long journeys without spoiling. Versions settled along the old trade routes through Navarra, Aragón, La Rioja, León, and Castilla, so the name describes a family of preparations rather than one fixed recipe. Navarra’s branch keeps the cod in visible flakes and binds it with reduced tomato and choricero pepper, unlike the potato-heavy ajoarriero or atascaburras made farther south.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dry salted cod, or refrigerated desalted salt cod
Quantity
600g dry, or 750g desalted
dry cod cut into pieces no thicker than 3cm
dried choricero peppers, or jarred choricero pepper pulp
Quantity
3 peppers, about 25g, or 45g pulp
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
120ml
garlic
Quantity
6 cloves, about 24g
thinly sliced
yellow onion
Quantity
250g
finely diced
green Italian frying pepper
Quantity
150g
seeded and cut into 1cm pieces
ripe tomatoes, or canned whole peeled tomatoes
Quantity
500g fresh, or 400g canned
fresh tomatoes grated and skins discarded, or canned tomatoes crushed
small dried guindilla (optional)
Quantity
1
fine salt (optional)
Quantity
0 to 2g
use only after tasting
rustic bread (optional)
Quantity
240g
torn for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dry salted cod, or refrigerated desalted salt coddry cod cut into pieces no thicker than 3cm | 600g dry, or 750g desalted |
| dried choricero peppers, or jarred choricero pepper pulp | 3 peppers, about 25g, or 45g pulp |
| extra virgin olive oil | 120ml |
| garlicthinly sliced | 6 cloves, about 24g |
| yellow onionfinely diced | 250g |
| green Italian frying pepperseeded and cut into 1cm pieces | 150g |
| ripe tomatoes, or canned whole peeled tomatoesfresh tomatoes grated and skins discarded, or canned tomatoes crushed | 500g fresh, or 400g canned |
| small dried guindilla (optional) | 1 |
| fine salt (optional)use only after tasting | 0 to 2g |
| rustic bread (optional)torn for serving | 240g |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy frying pan or shallow cazuela, about 28cm
- •Non-reactive container for desalting
- •Fine-edged teaspoon for scraping the peppers
- •Clean kitchen towels
Instructions
- 1
Desalt the cod
If using dry salt cod, place it skin side up in a non-reactive container and cover it by at least 5cm with cold water. Refrigerate for 24 hours, replacing the water after 8 and 16 hours. Keep it cold throughout. Thin pieces desalt faster than thick loins, which is why the 3cm limit matters.
Using refrigerated desalted salt cod? Skip this step, drain it well, and begin with the peppers. Its flavour will be a little gentler than cod desalted at home. - 2
Soften the peppers
Remove the stems and seeds from the dried choricero peppers. Cover them with warm water, weight them with a small plate, and leave for 30 minutes. Drain, open them flat, and scrape the soft red flesh from the skins with a teaspoon. You should have about 45g. Discard the tough skins. If using jarred pulp, measure 45g and move on.
- 3
Flake the cod
Drain the cod and press it thoroughly dry between clean kitchen towels. Remove every bone and pull away the skin, then tear the flesh by hand into irregular flakes about 2 to 3cm wide. Don’t chop it. Hand-torn flakes keep their layers and catch the sauce without turning into mince.
- 4
Start the garlic oil
Set a wide 28cm frying pan or shallow cazuela over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, sliced garlic, and the guindilla if using. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, moving the garlic often, until its edges are pale gold and the oil smells sweet. Remove the guindilla before it darkens.
- 5
Cook the sofrito
Add the onion and green pepper and lower the heat. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the onion is deep gold and soft and the pepper has collapsed into it. Keep the heat patient. This slow sofrito, the softened vegetable base, supplies the sweetness; high heat only scorches the garlic and leaves the onion sharp.
- 6
Reduce the tomato
Add the grated fresh tomato or crushed canned tomato. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring more often near the end. It is ready when the mixture is thick, the oil beads around the edges, and a spoon drawn across the pan leaves a path that stays open for two seconds. Stir in the choricero pepper flesh and cook for another 3 minutes.
Canned tomato may need five extra minutes to lose its water. Don’t add stock or flour. The sauce thickens by reduction, and loose liquid will stop it clinging to the cod. - 7
Fold in the cod
Add the dry cod flakes and fold them gently through the thick sauce. Cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, turning the mixture with a wooden spoon rather than stirring hard. The cod is ready when it is opaque, separates into moist layers, and any liquid it released has disappeared. Tilt the pan: there should be glossy oil at the edge, not a puddle of watery sauce.
- 8
Rest and serve
Take the pan off the heat and rest the ajoarriero for 5 minutes. Taste before adding salt because properly desalted cod often supplies enough; if it needs help, add no more than 2g. Carry the cazuela straight to the table and serve with torn bread for gathering the pepper-stained oil.
Chef Tips
- •Buy bacalao en migas, salted cod trimmings, when you see them. They are cheaper than handsome loin pieces and completely proper here because the fish will be flaked anyway. For pieces thinner than 1cm, soak for 12 hours and replace the water after 6 hours.
- •Choricero peppers have deep, gently sweet flesh and very little heat. Jarred choricero pulp is the cleanest substitute and saves the soaking. Four dried ñoras also work, but their flavour is sweeter and a little rounder.
- •Use ripe fresh tomatoes when the market has them. In colder months, good canned whole tomatoes are better than pale fresh ones because this sauce is thoroughly cooked and needs sweetness more than raw fragrance.
- •Fresh cod is not an equal substitute for salt cod. It lacks the firm layers and cured savour that define ajoarriero, and it releases more water into the pan.
- •Keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to two days. Reheat them slowly in a covered pan with 15ml water, then uncover briefly so the sauce returns to its proper thick consistency.
Advance Preparation
- •Desalt dry cod for 24 hours under refrigeration, changing the water after 8 and 16 hours. Drain it only when you are ready to cook.
- •The tomato and choricero sofrito can be cooked up to two days ahead and refrigerated. Warm it until bubbling gently before folding in the freshly dried cod.
- •The complete dish can be made one day ahead, though the cod firms slightly after reheating. Warm it gently and stop as soon as the centre is hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 410g)
Calories
640 calories
Total Fat
31 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
25 g
Cholesterol
80 mg
Sodium
1500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
45 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
46 g
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