Recipes
Baccalà (dried salt cod) Florentine style
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Main courses
Dried salt cod ("baccalà") is one of the most commonly used fish dishes in Florentine cuisine. Before cooking, the hard salted cod fillets are softened by soaking, often under running water. Grocers in Florence sell it already softened and ready for cooking, normally on Thursdays (the day before Friday when traditionally no meat is eaten). In traditional Florence cuisine baccalà, tasty and inexpensive, is a typical Friday dish. It can be cooked in many ways: boiled, in zimino (a kind of stew with Swiss chard) or fried, but the most typical and commonplace is with tomatoes – Florentine style.
Ingredients
- Salted cod (one fillet for every 4 people, pre-soaked)
- 2 fresh tomatoes (or 3 peeled tomatoes)
- flour
- garlic
- parsley (optional)
- extra-virgin olive oil
Method
Remove the skin and bones, then cut the cod into 5 x 7 cm pieces. Flour and fry the cod pieces in a little oil with a clove of garlic and a few sage leaves. Drain and set aside on paper towels.
Sauté the minced garlic and onion in 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Once the onion is soft, add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 20 minutes.
Finally, add the cod to the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
