Chef Isabel
Acedías Fritas de Cádiz
Acedías fritas belong to Cádiz: tiny wedge sole, salted, dusted in frying flour, and dropped into very hot olive oil so the rims crisp while the fish stays tender.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Tortillitas de Bacalao Gaditanas
Created by
Tortillitas de bacalao are Cádiz's flat salt cod fritters: desalted fish, chickpea flour, wheat flour, parsley, and hot oil, spooned thin so the edges fry crisp and lacy.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Outdoor Dining
Budget Friendly
Dinner Party
25 min
Active Time
20 min cook•24 hr 45 min total
Yield18 to 22 fritters
Tortillitas de bacalao are Gaditanas, from Cádiz, and they are not little cod doughnuts. That would be buñuelos. These are flat, thin fritters, made with desalted bacalao, parsley, a little garlic and spring onion, and a batter of chickpea flour and wheat flour that fries into lacy golden edges.
The method that decides them is the thickness. The batter must pour from the spoon, not sit there like paste. Spoon it into properly hot oil and spread it thin with the back of the spoon, so the cod flakes sit in a crisp web instead of a heavy cake. Too thick, and you get a soft middle with tired edges. Thin is the dish.
If you're far from Cádiz, no hace falta haber pisado España. Buy true salt cod and desalt it slowly in the fridge, or use frozen desalted bacalao if that's what your market has. Fresh cod salted for an hour will do in a pinch, but it tastes gentler and flakes softer, so don't pretend it's the same. It will still make a good fritter.
Rest the batter, fry in small batches, and eat them as they come from the pan with a squeeze of lemon if you like. Siempre sale, si lo sigues. In the Margin beside this one I wrote only this: thinner than you think.
Tortillitas belong to the frying culture of Cádiz and the Bay of Cádiz, where chickpea flour is used for thin fritters cooked quickly in olive oil. The better-known tortillitas de camarones use tiny local shrimp, but bacalao has long had its place in Andalusian home cooking, especially through Lent and Holy Week, when salted fish filled the space left by meat. The name matters: tortillita here means a thin fried round of batter, not an egg tortilla.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
salt cod
Quantity
250g
desalted for 24 hours, skin and bones removed
chickpea flour
Quantity
80g
plain wheat flour
Quantity
70g
very cold water
Quantity
300ml, plus 2 tablespoons if needed
spring onions
Quantity
2
very finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
1 small clove
finely grated
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
15g
finely chopped
sweet pimentón
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
baking powder
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fine salt (optional)
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
only if needed after tasting the cod
olive oil or mild olive oil
Quantity
for shallow frying
lemon (optional)
Quantity
1
cut into wedges
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| salt coddesalted for 24 hours, skin and bones removed | 250g |
| chickpea flour | 80g |
| plain wheat flour | 70g |
| very cold water | 300ml, plus 2 tablespoons if needed |
| spring onionsvery finely chopped | 2 |
| garlicfinely grated | 1 small clove |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 15g |
| sweet pimentón | 1/2 teaspoon |
| baking powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine salt (optional)only if needed after tasting the cod | 1/4 teaspoon |
| olive oil or mild olive oil | for shallow frying |
| lemon (optional)cut into wedges | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide frying pan, 28cm if possible
- •Digital thermometer
- •Slotted spoon or spider
- •Wire rack for draining
Instructions
- 1
Desalt the cod
Put the salt cod in a bowl, cover with cold water, and refrigerate for 24 hours, changing the water 3 times. Taste a tiny cooked flake if you're unsure; it should taste seasoned, not harshly salty. Drain it well, pat it dry, and pull it into small flakes, checking for bones with your fingers.
- 2
Make the batter
Whisk the chickpea flour, wheat flour, pimentón, and baking powder in a bowl. Pour in 300ml very cold water little by little, whisking until smooth. The batter should be thinner than pancake batter, loose enough to run from a spoon. Pésalo, no lo adivines; the flour balance is what gives you crisp edges without heaviness.
If your chickpea flour is coarse, let the batter rest a full 30 minutes before frying. It softens and fries more evenly. - 3
Fold in the cod
Stir in the flaked bacalao, spring onion, garlic, and parsley. Rest the batter for 20 to 30 minutes in the fridge. Taste the batter only after the cod has gone in; salt cod varies, and most batches need little or no added salt.
- 4
Heat the oil
Pour 1cm of olive oil into a wide frying pan and heat to 180C. If you don't have a thermometer, drop in a little batter; it should sizzle at once and float, not sink and soak. Stir the batter before each batch because the flour settles.
- 5
Fry thin
Spoon 2 tablespoons of batter into the oil for each tortillita and nudge it thin with the back of the spoon. Fry 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until the edges are lacy and deep golden and the centre is set. Do not crowd the pan, or the oil cools and the fritters drink it.
- 6
Drain and serve
Lift the tortillitas onto a rack or paper-lined tray and give them a minute to settle. Serve them hot, with lemon wedges if you like, though they don't need much. They should crackle at the edge and stay tender where the cod sits.
Chef Tips
- •Use real salt cod if you can. Frozen desalted bacalao is a good Spanish-kitchen shortcut, but pat it very dry or it will loosen the batter and spit in the oil.
- •Chickpea flour matters here. It gives the Cádiz fritter its nutty edge and crisp lace. If you use only wheat flour, you can still fry a cod fritter, but it won't be a Gaditana tortillita.
- •The batter should look too loose to a nervous cook. Good. Thick batter makes heavy fritters, and heavy is not the point here.
- •Keep finished tortillitas on a rack, not stacked on a plate, or the bottom ones soften. These are best eaten as they leave the pan.
Advance Preparation
- •Desalt the cod 24 hours ahead in the refrigerator, changing the water several times.
- •The batter can rest in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours before frying; stir it well before each batch.
- •Do not fry these far ahead. If needed, re-crisp on a rack in a 200C oven for 5 minutes, but the pan gives the best result.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 32g)
Calories
80 calories
Total Fat
3 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
14 mg
Sodium
245 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
5 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Andalusian Fritura & Pescaíto Frito
Browse the full collection
Chef Isabel
Bacaladillas Fritas Andaluzas
Bacaladillas fritas are coastal Andalucía's cheap, good sense: small blue whiting, cleaned whole, floured lightly, and fried hot enough that the edges crisp before the delicate flesh can dry out.
Chef Isabel
Boquerones en Adobo
Boquerones en adobo are coastal Andalucía in a frying pan: fresh anchovies in a vinegar-garlic-pimentón bath, drained dry, floured, and fried fast so they come crisp, sharp, and clean.
Chef Isabel
Boquerones Fritos Malagueños
Boquerones fritos are Málaga's little fried anchovies: fresh, silver, lightly floured, and dropped into very hot olive oil so they seal fast and stay clean, crisp, and sweet.