Italian Baccala is a classic and in this guest post you'll learn her family secrets to prepare this dish in your own home for the holidays.
How to make Italian Baccala.
Guest Post: My name is Mireille and I live in New York, where I have been lucky to be able to experiment with the cultural foods of many countries.
My family background is as diverse as my city, with relatives spanning the globe from Haiti to Indonesia. I currently work freelance as a food writer and personal chef and use my blog to present authentic and fusion recipes from around the world. Lots of Indian, Caribbean and so many other cuisines are represented at Chef Mireille’s Global Creations.
NY has one of the largest Italian communities, outside of Italy. Just about every other person you meet is at least 1/2 Italian. Most Italians are Catholic.
As a result, Christmas is one of the most important holidays to them and one of their traditions involves eating 7 different seafood dishes on Christmas Eve. Many of the dishes will differ from family to family, however, one dish is always included – Baccala.
Also known as Bacalao in other countries like Spain and Portugal, salted cod is popular in many countries. Usually originating as peasant food, it becomes part of the national culinary landscape in these countries.
Why not make this classic a tradition in your home this year?
If you are a seafood fanatic like I am, you may want to try this delicious tradition for your next Christmas meal. Who says you have to be Italian? Here are some ideas to complete the Feast of the Seven Fishes:
Italian Baccala is a classic and in this guest post you'll learn her family secrets to prepare this dish in your own home for the holidays.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 12 oz . dried salted cod boned
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 1/3 cup tomatoes chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley finely chopped, plus extra for garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- Soak fish in water for 2-4 hours. Drain and put fresh water to cover. Boil until fish is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Once it is cool enough to handle, flake by hand.
- In a large skillet, heat oil. Add onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and wine and cook on medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes, until alcohol has been cooked out.
- Add fish and parsley. Toss and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add pepper and lemon juice and toss to combine.
- Serve, garnished with more parsley, with crusty Italian bread or roasted potatoes.
Linda Cantave says
March 17, 2019 at 5:23 pmI am Haitian,
We soak the salted fish in large container of water, you can add vinegar, some acid , but nothing else.
Jeannie Hollstein says
December 15, 2018 at 12:37 pmWe used to have it similar but mixed with homemade pasta. I haven’t had it since I was about 10years old.
robert A magno says
November 18, 2018 at 5:43 pmI belong to a group on FaceBook called “Italian and nothing but Italian” One of the members is doing the Seven Fishes but is having problems getting all the salt out of the Baccala. She soaks it for 4 days but the fish is still salty. Any suggestions?
Chef Dennis Littley says
November 18, 2018 at 5:58 pmI’ve only ever used water to soak baccala and never that long. It sounds like that person got some bad baccala.
Nick says
December 9, 2018 at 11:20 pmThis is a total guess but 4 days in salt water would be like a brine. Any salt that would come off would end up in the water then absorb back into the fish. Once that happens you can’t get it out… It’s salted internally. Have her try again, but keep changing the water.
Angela says
December 16, 2018 at 4:03 pmMy Italian grandmother used to soak her fish in milk
Milk
Tom says
December 22, 2018 at 9:04 amYou need to regularly change the water. We’ve been having baccala for over 30 years. I usually change the water at least twice a day over a 4 day period and never had a problem. It will still be a tiny bit salty though. Good luck.
Peggy Robinson says
February 27, 2016 at 11:11 amJust tried this came out great
Chef Dennis Littley says
February 27, 2016 at 11:13 amthanks for the feedback Peggy! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe
Betty Ann @Mango_Queen says
April 14, 2013 at 1:28 pmOh I love this Italian Baccala, doesn’t matter if there’s not an ounce of Italian in me. Also, my late mom used to make a cod fish dish with tomato sauce and peppers & let it simmered low fire.
I have to tell you though, that when we were in Rome we found a “Ristorante Quirino” near the Trevi fountain and walked in – they entertained us and fed us like we were ‘blood relatives’ ! So I will take this dish & any Italian food any day. Thanks for sharing, Chef Dennis!
Chef Dennis says
April 14, 2013 at 3:08 pmI love Rome Betty Ann and for me it was a restaurant near the Spanish Steps where we feasted like royalty one Christmas Eve!
Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says
April 13, 2013 at 10:21 amI love discovering new blogs and chefs.. I’ll be off to visit Chef Mireille shortly! I had been introduced to baccala by another blogger (the Bartolini Kitchens) and find dried fish a fascinating concept (we’re sort of Land-Locked here int he Prairies). I haven’t tried it yet.. but will look for it at the grocers now.
Chef Dennis says
April 13, 2013 at 3:23 pmhi Barbara
thanks for stopping by and its always nice to try new things and see how others around the world eat! As crazy as it sounds you can probably get baccala online from an Italian grocer
Cheers
Dennis
Carolyn says
April 12, 2013 at 10:23 amOooo, would ya look at that! Something on Dennis’s site that I could actually eat! 🙂 Looks fantastic, thanks for sharing.
Mireille says
April 12, 2013 at 10:28 amglad you like it. Hope you try it soon 🙂
Mireille says
April 12, 2013 at 10:25 amThanks so much for this opportunity.
Chef Dennis says
April 12, 2013 at 7:09 pmYou’re very welcome Mireille! thank you for creating such a delicious dish for your guest post!
Sherry wines says
February 27, 2018 at 7:07 pmTo get this particular fish is it sold in New York ? I live in Maryland and my dad actually was asking about Baccala^ he use to have this at his grandparents house which are from Italy. Could you please let me know where I can get Baccala^ for my dad thank you Sherry 😊
Chef Dennis Littley says
February 27, 2018 at 8:26 pmI wish I knew where to tell you to shop, but being in Orlando I have no clue where to get it in your area. I would start Googling it to see what stores in your area carry it.
Nancy z. says
March 21, 2018 at 7:59 pmYou will find it an ant Latin American grocery. Korean grocery like Hmart in Georgia avenue
Even giant.