Name: Baccalà alla vicentina
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 4 h 30 min
Total time: 53 h 15 min
Cuisine: Italian, Vicenza / Veneto
Ingredients: 500 g dry stockfish, already beaten; soak 48–72 hours; 150 g onion, very thinly sliced; 250 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 35 g salted sardines, rinsed and boned; 250 ml whole milk; 30 g plain flour, for a very light dusting; 25 g Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated; 15 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; 1 g black pepper; 2 g fine sea salt, only if needed after tasting; 300 g polenta cornmeal; 1.2 L water; 8 g fine sea salt

Baccalà alla vicentina: wide hero view of pale creamy Vicenza-style stockfish with parsley and golden polenta in a rustic presentation

Prep45 minutes

Cook4 h 30 min

Total53 h 15 min

Yield6 servings

Jump to recipe ↓

The dish

About Baccalà alla vicentina

In Vicenza, bacalà alla vicentina is made from stoccafisso—air-dried cod—even though the local name uses bacalà. The Venerabile Confraternita del Bacalà alla Vicentina publishes a reference recipe built from dry stockfish, onion, olive oil, salted sardines, milk, flour, Grana, parsley, salt and pepper.

The preparation begins two to three days before cooking. Dry stockfish is soaked in cold water with changes about every four hours until fully flexible. The fish is then opened, boned and cut into substantial pieces rather than small flakes.

Onion is softened in olive oil with the salted sardines, which dissolve into the base. Lightly floured stockfish is arranged in a close layer, covered with the remaining onion mixture, milk and grated cheese, then surrounded with enough olive oil for the long low cook.

The defining Vicenza technique is “pipare”: roughly four and a half hours over very low heat, moving the pan in gentle circles from time to time but never stirring the fish. The goal is tender flakes in a pale integrated sauce, not a vigorous stew.

The Confraternita notes that the dish is excellent after 12–24 hours of rest. For production timing, the mandatory 48-hour minimum soak is counted as passive time, while an additional post-cooking rest remains optional. Soft polenta is the classic accompaniment and matches the previously verified image set.

Technique

Three things that matter

Use stockfish, not salt cod. The reference Vicenza dish starts with air-dried cod that must be rehydrated for days.
Cook at the faintest simmer. High heat can split milk and oil and break the softened fish.
Move the pan—do not stir. Circular movement redistributes heat while preserving the pieces during the long cook.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Stockfish

500 gdry stockfishalready beaten; soak 48–72 hours
150 gonionvery thinly sliced
250 mlextra-virgin olive oil
35 gsalted sardinesrinsed and boned
250 mlwhole milk
30 gplain flourfor a very light dusting
25 gGrana Padano or Parmigiano Reggianofinely grated
15 gflat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped
1 gblack pepper
2 gfine sea saltonly if needed after tasting

Polenta

300 gpolenta cornmeal
1.2 Lwater
8 gfine sea salt

Step by step

Method

Soak and prepare the stockfish

Rehydrate for at least two days. Cover the dry stockfish generously with cold water under refrigeration and change the water about every 4 hours for 48 hours, extending toward 72 hours if still rigid.
The fish should become fully flexible before cleaning.
Bone and portion. Open the fish lengthwise, remove backbone and pin bones, cut into large pieces and dust very lightly with flour.
No hard bone should remain and the flour should form only a thin veil.

Build the casserole

Soften onion and sardines. Warm about 60 ml olive oil and cook the onion gently for 12–15 minutes. Add the salted sardines and stir until they dissolve; fold in parsley off heat.
The onion should be soft and pale rather than browned.
Layer the fish. Spread some onion mixture in the casserole, arrange stockfish in one close layer, cover with the rest, then add milk, Grana, pepper and enough remaining olive oil to surround the pieces.
The fish should lie flat and remain mostly submerged without being stirred.

Pipare and serve with polenta

Cook extremely gently. Bring only to the faintest simmer and cook about 4½ hours. Rotate or shake the pan gently from time to time but never stir the fish.
Only occasional tiny bubbles should appear around the edges.
Cook the polenta. Near serving time, cook polenta in salted water according to the cornmeal type until smooth and tender.
The polenta should be soft enough to spoon beside the fish.
Rest briefly and serve. Taste the sauce, adjust salt only if needed and serve with polenta; a 12–24 hour refrigerated rest followed by gentle reheating is also traditional.
The fish should be very tender but still recognisably flaky in a pale integrated sauce.

Practical guidance

Why “baccalà” if it is stockfish?

The Vicenza name is traditional; the actual fish for this dish is stoccafisso, cod dried in air rather than salted.

Soaking

Forty-eight hours is the minimum production assumption. Very dry or thick stockfish can need closer to 72 hours.

No stirring

Once long cooking begins, use gentle pan movement rather than a spoon to avoid breaking the fish.

Resting

The official confraternity notes that the dish can improve after 12–24 hours. Chill promptly and reheat gently.

Troubleshooting

The sauce separates. The heat was too high; reduce to the faintest simmer and avoid aggressive boiling.
The fish stays tough. The stockfish was insufficiently rehydrated or needs more very gentle cooking time.
The fish breaks into mush. It was stirred or handled too much after softening.
The dish is too salty. Salted sardines and stockfish can vary; rinse well and delay added salt until near the end.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 1 fish portion with polenta
Calories: approximately 770 kcal
Carbohydrates: 39 g
Protein: 43 g
Fat: 48 g
Fibre: 3 g
Sodium: approximately 1050 mg

Stockfish, salted sardines and added cheese make sodium particularly variable; the estimate assumes effective soaking and rinsing.

Allergens and food safety

Contains fish, milk and wheat/gluten.

Soak stockfish under refrigeration and use clean cold water for every change.

Refrigerate cooked leftovers within 2 hours; if resting the dish overnight, chill promptly and reheat thoroughly before serving.

FAQ

Is baccalà alla vicentina made with salted cod?

Despite the name, the classic Vicenza recipe uses air-dried stockfish, or stoccafisso.

Why is the pan never stirred?

After hours of cooking the fish is extremely delicate; rotating the pan distributes heat without breaking the pieces.

What is served with it?

Soft polenta is the traditional accompaniment and also appears in the verified Travel S Helper image set.

Final note

What matters most

Result: Exceptionally tender stockfish in a pale, rich onion-milk-olive-oil sauce, spooned beside soft polenta.
Key: Rehydrate completely, keep the heat barely active for about 4½ hours and move the vessel without stirring the fish.