Baccalà alla Napoletana
This Traditional Southern Italian recipe is often served at The Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. That is what I have started to do with my family, so there is just a small dish made, enough for a taste.
Servings: 8 -10
Ingredients
- 1 kilo of Saltcod
- 4-6 cloves of garlic , minced
- one bunch of flat leaf parsley , leaves only (and tender stems) chopped
- Olive oil
- 500 g canned DOP Tomatoes
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup Gaeta or Nicoise olives
- 1/4 cup capers
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper , or more to taste
- Salt , as needed, to taste (olives, baccala and capers are all salty)
Instructions
Two Days in Advance:
- Soak salt cod for up to 48 hours in several daily changes of cold water
Instructions for the Cod:
- Drain cod, pat dry, and cut into serving pieces; small if not the only main dish
- Flour and season pieces of cod; fry in large skillet over medium high heat in olive oil
- Drain paper towel
Instructions for the Sauce:
- Pre-heat oven to 350F
- In the same large skillet used for frying the cod, very lightly saute a soffritto of the minced garlic and chopped parsley in olive oil until it just begins to give off its fragrance
- Immediately add tomatoes and simmer gently for 5 minutes
- When tomatoes start to melt into a sauce, toss in capers and olives
- Transfer sauce to oven proof serving dish; gently add fried baccala to the pan and place in preheated oven for 30 minutes, uncovered, to reduce sauce
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with more chopped parsley for color and serve