The taste of the North: the tradition of Bacalà alla Vicentina

History, legend and tradition behind the recipe protected by the Venerabile Confraternita

Bacalà alla Vicentina is not just a dish, but a fragment of history with more than 400 years of tradition. Its story begins in 1431 with Pietro
Querini’s shipwreck on the Lofoten Islands in Norway. There he discovered air-dried cod, hard as a stick. This food, known as stockfish, was introduced to Venice and became essential for poorer communities.

In the Vicenza area, the word bacala refers to stockfish, very different from salted cod. The traditional recipe uses the Ragno quality, which must be beaten and soaked before being slowly cooked in terracotta pots rich with flavour, creating a creamy harmony of tastes. Traditionally, it is served with slices of white or yellow polenta to enhance its uniqueness.

A recipe protected by the Venerabile Confraternita

The original recipe is protected by the Venerable Confraternity of Bacala, founded in Sandrigo in 1987 to promote this historic dish while respecting tradition. The network includes around 40 restaurants, 26 of them in the Vicenza area. The dish is also included in the EuroFIR EU circuit and in the national list as an Expression of Italian Cultural Heritage.

The Festa del Bacala in Sandrigo, the town known as the home of Bacalà, attracts more than 50,000 people every year over a two-week period and strengthens a powerful international bond.

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