Lillian's Christmas Bacallà
I'll never forget my first taste of Donna's grandmother's bacallà, a savory stew made from salt-preserved cod which is always the centerpiece of the Seven Fishes menu at Donna and Pat's house on Christmas eve. Donna's grandmother, ninety-two-year-old Lillian -- "Big Nonna" to her extended family -- still makes it every Christmas at her home in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Baccalà is better known to a lot of New Englanders as salt cod -- a staple on the long sea voyages of whalers and traders in colonial days. It's also important in Portuguese and Puerto Rican cuisine (it's bacalao in Spanish), as mentioned in my recent post on Serenata de Bacalao.
Lillian Quadri's Baccalà
12 servings
Note: this dish takes some planning. The salt cod has to soak for two days before you make the soup, and the soup is best if you make one or two days before serving, so you need to start at least 4 days before you plan to serve it.
Ingredients- 2 pounds salt cod (baccalà or bacalao), cut in 1" pieces
- 2 medium onions, peeled and cut in 1" chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes, cut in 1" chunks, with juice
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 5 medium boiling potatoes, peeled, cut in 1" chunks
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
1. Cover fish with cold water and soak, refrigerated, for two days. Change the water at least twice a day. Drain well.
2. In a deep heavy pot, sauté the onions in the oil on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for five minutes or until tender and starting to brown.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, potatoes, baking soda and the fish and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about twenty minutes. Do not adjust seasoning at this point.
4. Refrigerate for a day or two, stirring occasionally.
5. When ready to serve, reheat gently and then correct the seasoning.
Serve in shallow soup plates. Place several pieces of fish and potatoes in each plate and pour a ladleful of the beautiful red sauce over them. Garnish with the minced parsley and pass a pepper grinder.
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Stephen,
I just tagged you for the 10 Favorite Foods meme.
Posted by: kevin | December 15, 2005 at 09:49 AM
So what exactly IS salt cod? I've seen it a dozen times in the past couple of days. And do you just get it from the same fish man? Or somewhere else?
Posted by: Alanna | December 15, 2005 at 12:15 PM
What a beautiful soup! I can't wait for the 7 fishes post.
Posted by: Helen Rennie | December 15, 2005 at 12:31 PM
I'm loving these bacalao recipes. Thank you!
Paz
Posted by: Paz | December 15, 2005 at 05:36 PM
Ah, salted cod. The only fish available in land-locked areas not near the shore until advances such as trucking and freezing. The fish of the poor until relatively recently, converted into the fish of the fairly well-to-do as the traditional dishes gained in pre$tige and fish stocks started to diminsh. Enjoy it while you can because things aren't looking well:
Fisheries Managers Say Atlantic Codfish Stocks Near State Of Collapse
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/collapse2005.html
In Spain, there's a traditional dish for Lent which is a stew made of chick pea, spinach, salted cod and boiled eggs. I've made it a couple of times and it's is delicious, a comfort food dish. Though the Spaniards are masters of bacalao, especially the Basque, the Portuguese are said to have the greatest variety of recipes. Salted cod is also served as a tapa, as is, too, in southeastern Spain, Murcia mostly.
For those who so desire, there's a good book on, yes, salted cod called Cod by Mark Kurlansky which covers the historical and social facets of this prime material.
Good stuff, Stephen. BTW, it's not just Puerto Rican, the Cubans (being the last Spanish colony) are great consumers. My mother makes a mean bacalao aporreado with hand threshed de-salted cod, red peppers, and garlic.
A wonderful holiday to all.
Miguel
Posted by: Miguel Marcos | December 17, 2005 at 04:06 PM
Yet another warning flag so enjoy the cod (and hake!) while you can:
"The latest Ices advice, released in October, was that "cod stocks in the North Sea, Irish Sea and west of Scotland remain well below minimum recommended levels and the advice for these stocks... is zero catch".
Ices made a similar recommendation for hake fleets off the coast of Spain and Portugal."
The ICES is the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4543832.stm
Posted by: Miguel Marcos | December 20, 2005 at 06:02 AM
My Aunt makes bacalla every Christmas eve, however she puts big green olives in it and it is so delicious!!!
Posted by: Lisa Miller | December 23, 2005 at 10:10 AM
please, help me! i'm a cousin of pat and donna i'd like to know your email addresse
Posted by: luca berretta | April 05, 2008 at 05:43 PM