Chef Isabel
Banderilla Vasca
Banderilla Vasca is the Basque bar's cold skewer: piparra peppers, olives, pickled onion, gherkin, and anchovy threaded so every bite lands sharp, briny, and salty.
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Piquillos Rellenos de Bacalao
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Piquillos rellenos de bacalao belong to the Navarra-Basque table: sweet roasted piquillo peppers filled with desalted cod, bound lightly, and finished in their own red sauce.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
35 min cook•PT24H1H10M total
Yield6 servings, 12 stuffed peppers
Piquillos rellenos de bacalao are Navarra-Basque, made from the little flame-roasted red peppers of Lodosa and the salted cod that has fed the northern larder for generations. What makes the dish itself is the balance: sweet pepper, gentle salt cod, and a filling held together just enough to stay inside the pepper. Not a heavy paste. Not a croqueta hiding in a red coat.
The method that decides it is the bacalao. Desalt it patiently, then poach it barely, flake it by hand, and bind it with a light bechamel so it stays soft. If you boil the cod hard, it tightens and tastes woolly. If you drown it in flour, the pepper disappears. The filling should spoon in warm and tender, with the cod still recognizable.
No hace falta haber pisado España. If you can't find true pimientos del piquillo de Lodosa, use good jarred whole roasted red peppers, but choose small firm ones and drain them well; they will be sweeter and less pointed, and they tear more easily. For the cod, buy salt cod if you can and give it the full soak. If you must use fresh cod, salt it lightly for an hour first and know the flavor will be gentler.
Make the filling ahead if you like. Fill the peppers without fuss, lay them in a shallow cazuela, and nap them with a sauce made from their own juices. Siempre sale, si lo sigues. In the Margin beside this one, I keep the same warning every time: dry the peppers before you fill them, or the sauce thins and sulks.
Pimientos del piquillo are tied to Lodosa in Navarra, where the small triangular peppers are roasted over flame, peeled by hand, and preserved whole for the pantry. Bacalao, salt cod, became central across the Basque Country and Navarra because it traveled and kept well, giving inland kitchens a reliable fish long after the catch left the coast. Stuffing piquillos with bacalao belongs to that northern habit of making preserved foods taste fresh at the table: pepper, cod, milk, oil, and patience.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
salt cod
Quantity
300g
desalted over 24 to 36 hours
whole jarred pimientos del piquillo
Quantity
12
drained and patted dry
extra piquillo peppers
Quantity
2
torn, for the sauce
whole milk
Quantity
250ml
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
80ml
small onion
Quantity
1, about 120g
finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
finely chopped
plain flour
Quantity
35g
piquillo pepper juices
Quantity
2 tablespoons
from the jar
dry white wine
Quantity
60ml
fish stock or light vegetable stock
Quantity
200ml
tomato puree
Quantity
1 tablespoon
sweet pimenton de la Vera
Quantity
1 teaspoon
salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| salt coddesalted over 24 to 36 hours | 300g |
| whole jarred pimientos del piquillodrained and patted dry | 12 |
| extra piquillo pepperstorn, for the sauce | 2 |
| whole milk | 250ml |
| extra virgin olive oil | 80ml |
| small onionfinely chopped | 1, about 120g |
| garlicfinely chopped | 2 cloves |
| plain flour | 35g |
| piquillo pepper juicesfrom the jar | 2 tablespoons |
| dry white wine | 60ml |
| fish stock or light vegetable stock | 200ml |
| tomato puree | 1 tablespoon |
| sweet pimenton de la Vera | 1 teaspoon |
| salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Shallow cazuela or 23cm baking dish
- •Small saucepan
- •Fine spoon or piping bag for filling
- •Blender or hand blender
Instructions
- 1
Desalt the cod
Put the salt cod in a bowl, cover it with plenty of cold water, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water 3 or 4 times. Taste a tiny flake after soaking; it should be seasoned, not salty enough to make you reach for water. Pésalo, no lo adivines, and give thick pieces the longer soak.
If your cod is already labeled desalted, still taste it before cooking. Some pieces are ready, some are still fierce. - 2
Poach gently
Put the desalted cod in a small pan with the milk and bring it just to a bare tremble. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave it for 8 minutes. Lift out the cod, reserve the milk, and flake the fish by hand, removing any skin or bones. Do not boil it; hard heat tightens bacalao and the filling loses its tenderness.
- 3
Cook the base
Warm 50ml of the olive oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until soft, dark gold, and sweet. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. This slow onion base is the floor of the filling; rush it and the cod tastes flat.
- 4
Bind the filling
Stir 25g of the flour into the onion and cook for 2 minutes, moving it through the oil so it loses the raw flour smell. Pour in 200ml of the reserved warm milk little by little, stirring until smooth and thick. Fold in the flaked cod and cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture holds its shape on a spoon but still looks moist. Taste before salting; bacalao brings its own salt.
- 5
Fill the peppers
Drain the piquillos and pat them dry inside and out with kitchen paper. Keep any red juices from the jar for the sauce. Spoon the warm cod filling into each pepper, filling it plumply but not to bursting, then lay the peppers seam side down in a shallow cazuela or baking dish.
- 6
Make the sauce
Warm the remaining 30ml olive oil in a small pan. Stir in the remaining 10g flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato puree and pimenton off the heat for a few seconds, just until it smells sweet, then pour in the white wine, stock, piquillo juices, and the 2 torn peppers. Simmer 10 minutes, then blend until smooth and taste for salt and pepper.
- 7
Nap and warm
Pour the sauce over and around the filled peppers, leaving their red backs showing here and there. Warm over low heat on the stove, or in a 180C oven, for 10 to 12 minutes, until the sauce is glossy and lightly thickened. Shake the cazuela once or twice instead of stirring, so the peppers stay whole. Serve warm, with bread for the sauce.
Chef Tips
- •Buy whole pimientos del piquillo de Lodosa if you can. They are small, triangular, and sweet with a faint roasted edge. Large roasted red peppers work at a pinch, but they are softer and less pointed in flavor, so handle them gently and expect fewer neat portions.
- •Salt cod is not the same as fresh cod. The curing gives bacalao its firm flake and deep savor. If fresh cod is all you have, rub 300g cod with 6g fine salt, refrigerate 1 hour, rinse, pat dry, and poach it gently. It will be milder, but it will still behave.
- •The filling should be thick enough to mound on a spoon, not stiff enough to slice. If it sets too firm, loosen it with a spoonful of the poaching milk. If it is loose, cook it a few minutes longer before filling.
- •Serve these with a crisp Navarra rosado, a Basque txakoli, or a dry white from Rioja Alavesa. Nothing too oaky; the peppers are sweet and the cod is gentle.
Advance Preparation
- •Desalt the cod 24 to 36 hours ahead, changing the water several times and keeping it refrigerated.
- •Make the cod filling up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it covered. Bring it close to room temperature before filling the peppers so it spoons cleanly.
- •The peppers can be filled and sauced 1 day ahead. Reheat gently, covered, adding a spoonful of water if the sauce has thickened too much.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 200g)
Calories
240 calories
Total Fat
14 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
25 mg
Sodium
850 mg
Total Carbohydrates
13 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
15 g
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