Bacalao ala Vizcaína: Penance or indulgence?
I saved my all-time personal favorite Lenten bacalao dish recipe for last — bacalao ala VizcaÃna.
The word VizcaÃna stems from the autonomous province of Basque country or Vizcaya, with Bilbao as its capital, after which the Golfo de Vizcaya (Bay of Biscay) is named. It is the body of water extending from the Atlantic Ocean hugging the western coast of France and northern Spain, also called the Cantabrian Sea by the British. Since medieval times, it was the Basque fishermen who introduced and marketed the dried salted cod all over Spain and the rest of its former colonies, including the Philippines. 
VizcaÃna sauce is a rich, deep-red color made with tomatoes, pimientos (red bell pepper), onions, garlic, and sautéed in olive oil, not too dissimilar from the Spanish or Latin American sofrito or salsa con tomate. Its versatility makes it the most popular sauce used in many stews with meat or seafood in Basque cuisine.
The VizcaÃna recipe is rather controversial, whether it has tomatoes or not, and many traditionalists insist that the red ingredient is purely from pimientos. Nowadays, most people associate Vizcaina sauce with bacalao. As with all traditional recipes, there are as many versions as there are households.
Whatever the case, the VizcaÃna/sofrito is here to stay. Try topping it over fried fish, chicken, hardboiled eggs, or even as the base for empanada filling. And, as in the case of all tomato-based stews, it is best eaten a day or two after it has been cooked (kept in the ref) when the acidity in the tomatoes has mellowed and been well-steeped in the meat or fish it was cooked with.
Hands down this is my all-time favorite bacalao recipe, adapted from my mother’s method. Dried salted bacalao imported from Spain is available at Terry’s Selection, La Tienda, and Rustan’s Makati Supermarket. Dulcinea serves bacalao ala VizcaÃna year-round in all its branches.
Due to its prohibitive cost, a local substitute is daing na labahita, also known as binakalao or faux bacalao, which is quite popular in Cavite, the bastion of Chavacano or Philippine-Spanish Creole culture, together with Zamboanga City. Follow the same procedure in cooking it as below.
Coating the bacalao pieces with flour before frying produces the roux that thickens the sauce and makes it cling to the fish, potato or whatever solid pieces it is cooked with. Ideally, the bacalao is fried in olive oil, but due to its prohibitive cost, canola or soya oil (most neutral in smell and taste) is used for frying. Besides, much of the flavor and aroma of extra-virgin olive oil is lost when subjected to high heat. A common practice in Spanish cooking (and Mediterranean cuisine in general) is adding olive oil to the cooked dish just before serving.
Bacalao ala Vizcaina/ Bacalao con tomate
Ingredients:
1k bacalao
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups canola or soya oil
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large onions, cut into strips
2 cans 400g diced tomatoes or 1 k fresh ripe tomatoes,
blanched, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 can 113g red pimiento or fresh bell pepper (capsicum),
cut into 1/4 inch strips
1/2 kilo potatoes (optional), peeled and quartered
1 can 425g garbanzos (chickpeas)
Salt and pepper to taste
