PrintBaccala recipes, help
I went into my local fish market today thinking I would buy swordfish or tuna, and I walked out with soaked baccala. I had never bought it or prepared it before, and only bought it because they had it as a special, and the owner recommended it to me. I found some recipes online and ended up boiling the baccala for a couple of minutes, until it flaked. Then I mixed it in a salad of black olives, black pepper, red pepper, cucumber, garlic, onion, lemon, and olive oil. I let it sit for 45 minutes in the fridge and then served. It was ok but honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of the texture. I've eaten baccala in Spanish and Italian restaurants, and really enjoyed it. Any idea where I went wrong? Any recommended recipes? Thanks.
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9 Comments:
I'd start by asking Lidia Batianich or Mario Batali.
Cheers,
Karen
kjgibson at 9:36PM on 11/19/07
She's right - you need an Italian. The lady in front of me at my Italian grocery bought one, and I asked her what she was doing with it and she said something about breadcrumbs while brandishing three feet of baccala at me. You have to trust someone like that.
Littlebluesiren at 10:31PM on 11/19/07
Cough cough, an italian speaks. No panicking baccala is wonderful and forgiving. There are a few ways to make it. Fritters (fritte), a pasta sauce or as a salad with some olives thrown in.
My people love them all.
Fritters are easy, but open the windows and air your house out.
batter:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup half and half
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp, salt
twist of pepper
fry till golden brown and serve right away.
for
baccalà salad
1 pound salt cod, soaked and drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup whole cured black olives
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Serve cold.
To make a pasta sauce per 1 pound soaked baccala
1 rib celery minced
2 cloves garlic
medium-sized onion, minced add as much or as little as you like
saute the above 3 in 2-3 tablespoons olive oil then
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
add in paste and let it fry a min then add in wine
bell peppers-roasted peppers-whatever you have
1/2 cup mild black olives like kalamata
A handful of salted capers, rinsed
some italian parsley, basil and oregano minced
Water if you need to thin a bit
Salt, pepper and a pinch of dried pepper flake.
Make the sauce and throw the baccala in last.
Adjust the flavors to your family's tastes.
JerzeeTomato at 3:55AM on 11/20/07
I like soaked out salt cod in a casserole with potatoes, onions and tomatoes. I think the origin of this dish is Portugese.
I add some fresh herbs as well.
suegsf at 5:16AM on 11/20/07
(((Jumps up and down))) - Thanks Jerzee for the fritter recipe! My dad always made the best baccala fritters but I could never nail him down for the ingredients. Copying and printing yours. (My dad was born in Naples, BTW...Italy, not Florida...LOL)
chiff0nade at 9:00AM on 11/20/07
Daisy Martinez of Daisy Cooks has a fabulous recipe for baccala with eggplant. I was skeptical at first, but it really was tasty. (And I am known to have texture issues with food). This is the recipe I tried: http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2007/01/salted_cod.html.
July at 9:35AM on 11/20/07
I'm portuguese, I wouldn't recommend buying soaked baccalao because a you don't know how long it has been soaked for or how or waht they soaked it in. Recommendation buy it unsoaked and soak it yourself, submerged in water for 24-36 hours depending on the thickness, changing the water every 12 hours. That way you keep the saltiness of the fish that makes it so tasty.
Recipe
Poach it in Olive Oil served over oven baked red potatoes with broccoli rabe.
nelson5757 at 11:09AM on 11/20/07
I agree about the not buying pre-soaked baccala. It's important to see the fish itself - the color and stiffness, the look of it. Even salt cod can become less delightful a product as time passes and it sits around possibly not selling (it's probably not to be considered something that flies off the shelves in general and the issues with texture you described could have been from excessive age and/or improper soaking.
Here's a link to an online adaptation of a James Beard recipe for codcakes which is really excellent.
Quote:
These are adapted from a codfish cake recipe in James Beard's American Cookery. Crispy outside, creamy inside, with the bright tang of fresh ginger, they make great hors d'oeuvres. If you want a dipping sauce, standard seafood cocktail sauce or a mayonnaise-based sauce flavoured with lemon juice and/or dijon mustard are good choices.
(Scroll down linked page to find recipe.)
Karen Resta at 11:29AM on 11/20/07
I agree on buying it and soaking it out yourself and KNOW your supplier.
suegsf at 2:03PM on 11/20/07