The recipe of Patience

In Vicenza, Italy, a gastronomic brotherhood knights its members with dried cod. Its obsession is bacalà alla Vicentina, made with stockfish from Norway’s Lofoten Islands, milk, olive oil and onions, slowly cooked and served with golden polenta. A recipe measured in months, days, hours and one more night.

THE FOOD BROTHERHOOD ↓ · MONTHS IN THE WIND ↓ · THE WATER ↓ · THE RECIPE ↓ · PIPARE ↓ ·  GET THE RECIPE & TASTE IT IN VICENZA ↓ 

01 · THE FOOD BROTHERHOOD

In the Italian province of Vicenza, a rich, slowly cooked dish of Norwegian cod has acquired a gastronomic brotherhood, an annual festival and an international friendship with the Lofoten Islands.

The dish is bacalà alla Vicentina, traditionally served with golden polenta. Its devotees include the members of the Venerabile Confraternita del Bacalà alla Vicentina, founded in Sandrigo in 1987 to preserve the traditional recipe.

They wear ceremonial robes in the colours of dried cod and polenta. New members receive an investiture involving the fish itself. National Geographic even attended one of the brotherhood's great gastronomic gatherings, where hundreds of guests enjoyed a banquet devoted to the celebrated recipe.

The relationship extends all the way to Røst, a fishing community in Norway's Lofoten Islands. Sandrigo has a Piazzetta Røst, while an island in the Norwegian archipelago bears the name Sandrigøya.

A shipwreck in 1432 introduced the Venetian merchant Pietro Querini to the stockfish tradition of Røst. His account became part of the history connecting Norway with northern Italian food culture. The Vicentine recipe developed subsequently, and the modern brotherhood continues to celebrate the relationship. All this devotion is inspired by something wonderfully edible.

02 · MONTHS IN THE WIND

The first ingredient has already spent months in preparation before it reaches a kitchen in Vicenza.

Every winter, Arctic cod known as skrei migrates towards the Norwegian coast. In the Lofoten Islands, the fish is cleaned and suspended on wooden drying racks, exposed to the cold air and coastal wind for months.

The result is tørrfisk, or stockfish, one of Norway's oldest traditional exports. Tørrfisk fra Lofoten has European Protected Geographical Indication status.

The dried fish becomes astonishingly hard. Its low moisture content allows it to be stored and transported over considerable distances, a quality that made it valuable to European traders centuries ago. Among the stockfish varieties prized in Vicenza is Ragno, traditionally regarded as a particularly suitable quality for the local recipe.

 

03 · THE MALLET AND THE WATER

A whole dried stockfish looks like an improbable beginning for an Italian dinner.

Before cooking, the fish is traditionally beaten to soften its fibres, placed in cold water and left to soak for two to three days. The official recipe recommends changing the water every four hours. As the fish rehydrates, the flesh becomes sufficiently pliable to be opened, cleaned, deboned and divided into pieces. There is also a small linguistic curiosity. In Vicenza the traditional dish is called bacalà, with one c. In standard Italian, baccalà generally means cod preserved in salt, whereas stoccafisso refers to cod dried without salt. The Vicentine name has survived for centuries, even though its principal ingredient is stockfish.

04 · THE BONES AND THE ONIONS

The official recipe recommended by the Confraternita is surprisingly generous with its ingredients. For twelve people, it calls for one kilogram of dried stockfish, approximately half a litre of extra virgin olive oil, another half litre of fresh milk, onions, three salted sardines, grated Grana cheese, parsley, a little flour, salt and pepper.

The onions are gently cooked in olive oil with the salted sardines. The fish is cut into portions, lightly floured and arranged in a terracotta or suitable cooking pan with the onion mixture, milk, cheese and the remaining oil. The ingredients produce a dish with a distinctive richness. The onions soften, the sardines contribute savoury depth, and the milk and olive oil create the sauce around the tender fish. The result is traditionally served over polenta. At Sandrigo's Festa del Bacalà, the organisers use Mais Marano, a local Veneto maize variety prized for its flavour and intense golden colour.

05 · FOUR AND A HALF HOURS, HANDS OFF

One instruction in the Confraternita's recipe deserves particular attention.

Never stir the fish.

Bacalà alla Vicentina cooks over very gentle heat for approximately four and a half hours. The pan is moved occasionally in a circular motion, allowing the ingredients to cook evenly while preserving the pieces of cod.

In the Vicentine dialect, this cooking technique is called pipare.

The finished dish should be soft and rich, with tender fish enveloped in a savoury sauce. The polenta provides the perfect accompaniment, absorbing the cooking juices and balancing the richness of the olive oil. And there is a local wine pairing worth remembering: Breganze Vespaiolo, a white wine whose freshness and acidity make it particularly well suited to the dish. The Confraternita also recommends other wines from the surrounding Veneto wine districts.

06 · ONE MORE NIGHT

The final ingredient is still patience.

The official recipe explains that bacalà alla Vicentina is excellent after resting for another twelve to twenty four hours.

The whole preparation has taken months in the Arctic air, days in cold water and hours over gentle heat. The finished dish is now ready for the table, accompanied by steaming polenta and a glass of local wine.

For an experience of the original recipe, the Confraternita maintains a selection of restaurants across the Vicenza province. In Sandrigo itself, Palmerino, Il Bacalà a Sandrigo, is listed in the MICHELIN Guide for its traditional cod preparations, including bacalà alla Vicentina.

Every September, Sandrigo also hosts the Festa del Bacalà alla Vicentina, a food festival dedicated to the relationship between the Lofoten stockfish producers and Italian cooks. The 2026 edition featured traditional bacalà with Mais Marano polenta, other cod dishes, a formal gastronomic gala and the ceremonial investiture of new members of the brotherhood.

The 2026 edition has concluded. Consult the official festival website for the 2027 programme.

And somewhere between Røst and Sandrigo, a piece of dried Norwegian cod has acquired a decidedly Italian social life.

Four and a half hours of cooking. Another night of patience. Ready to try it?

Find the authentic recipe of bacalà alla Vicentina, the wine pairings and the restaurants where you can taste it.

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