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Baccala: Cod fish, Venetian style

Serve on bread or polenta

The “Fishy Baccala” that Rosemary Clooney sings about has quite a rich history.  It’s beginnings in Italian cuisine goes back to the adventures of a 15^th century Venetian captain, Pietro Querini, whose famous shipwreck off the coast of the far-away Lofoten islands of Norway brought codfish to the Northern Italians.  The Venetians created a dish with this new discovery and called it baccala.

For the Venitians, baccala is made with cured cod fish (meaning, it was salted for preservation). 

I used fresh codfish in my baccala, as it easier to find than the cured codfish.

Serves two

Ingredients: ½ lb. fresh codfish

olive oil

Spices: I like it with salt, pepper, and hint of ground cloves.  (The original recipe is also with garlic. I like it delicate.)

Toppings: Capers, olives or whatever looks and tastes good with it. (For ideas, look at the pictures I took.)

I served it on bread slices, but it is also very good also on fried polenta (cornbread) or also on fresh pasta like fettuccine.

Fill a pot with cold water and toss in the fish. Turn the heat on and wait for the water to start boiling. Once you reach a boil, turn the heat off and let it sit uncovered for half an hour.

Remove the fish from the pot and chop it very finely.  Put some oil in a pan, turn the heat on low, and start adding the fish pieces and the spices. Constantly stirring, continue to add oil until the fish starts to resemble a lumpy cream.

When it looks like a sort of mousse it is ready.

Mangia!

Tommaso