Columbus's Potaje de Garbanzos con Bacalao

The Spanish Seafaring Staple

Dinner is the bowl the Spanish world kept circling back to: potaje de garbanzos con bacalao—chickpeas with cod. Onion and garlic softened in oil, bay and pepper for warmth, chickpeas with their cooking liquor, then desalted cod slipped in just long enough to flake. Some of the chickpeas are mashed up to thicken the liquid; a splash of vinegar is added for balance; and hardtack is served on the side for dunking.

The Rise of Salt Cod

In the far North, people made stockfish—unsalted cod air-dried in the cold—for centuries. In the later fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, heavily salted cod rose with Atlantic fisheries and Iberian demand; it travelled better in warmer climates than plain dried fish. That’s how bacalao became an Iberian staple, especially useful across dozens of Catholic fasting days when meat was off the table.

By the mid-sixteenth century the Basques were major players on the Newfoundland grounds and cod had already become a basic food in ports like Bilbao. Bacalao is still a backbone dish from Portugal to the Caribbean today, though note the tomato-rich, olive-laden versions are later evolutions.

Instructions

Prepare the Salt Cod (1-2 Days Ahead)

Desalt the cod: Place salt cod in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours, changing the water 4-6 times. The cod should be noticeably less salty but still flavorful.
Drain and prepare: Remove any skin and bones, then break into large flakes. Set aside.

Prepare the Chickpeas

Soak overnight: Place dried chickpeas in a large bowl, cover with plenty of water, and soak for 8-12 hours. Drain before cooking.

Cook the Potaje

Start the chickpeas: In a large pot, combine drained chickpeas, bay leaves, and 1.5L water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 60-75 minutes until chickpeas are tender.
Make the sofrito: While chickpeas cook, heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft and golden, about 8 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes until fragrant.
Combine: Add the sofrito to the pot of cooked chickpeas. Season with black pepper.
Thicken: Remove about 1 cup of chickpeas with some liquid and mash them thoroughly with a fork or potato masher. Return this mash to the pot and stir—this creates a thicker, more cohesive broth.
Add the cod: Gently fold in the desalted cod flakes. Simmer for just 5-8 minutes until the fish is heated through and flakes easily. Don’t overcook or it will become tough.
Finish: Remove from heat and stir in red wine vinegar. Taste carefully before adding any salt—the cod likely provides enough.

Serve

Ladle into bowls: Serve hot in deep bowls with ship’s biscuit or bread on the side for dunking.
The proper way: Dunk the biscuit in the broth—that’s when this meal truly works.

Chef’s Notes

Brothy, silky, decidedly salty—then you dunk the biscuit and suddenly it works. This is not glamour; it’s momentum.

The crushed chickpeas don’t thicken this dramatically, creating more of a brothy consistency than a thick stew. If you’re not a fan of fish soup in general, this might be challenging—but after nearly a full bottle of wine (as was the sailor’s ration), who cares?

Historical Note: This combination was perfect for long voyages—dried chickpeas and salt cod both kept indefinitely, while the simple aromatics of onion, garlic, and bay could survive the journey. The dish provided protein from the cod, carbohydrates and fiber from the chickpeas, and just enough flavor to maintain morale at sea.

Authenticity: All the ingredients would have been available aboard Columbus’s ships in 1492. This is ship food designed to endure, not to indulge.