| 2 Lbs Salted Cod 2 Cups Jarred Sweet Peppers – roughly chopped 1 Cup Kalamata Olives – pitted and roughly chopped 1 Cup Parsley – roughly chopped 2 Celery Ribs – thinly sliced ¾ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 6 Tbs Capers – rinsed and roughly chopped | Freshly Ground Black Pepper ½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes – or to taste 4 Garlic Cloves – finely chopped Juice of 2 Lemons Kosher Salt – to taste 1 Medium Head Escarole – cored and leaves separated |
Place cod in a 2-quart saucepan and cover with cold water by 2-inches and boil for about 20 minutes. Drain and return to the saucepan repeating this process twice. Drain and cut into 1-inch chunks and transfer to a bowl. Toss with the peppers, olives, parsley, oil, capers, black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, celery and lemon juice and stir. Taste for salt and stir again. Cover and chill for about 2 hours. Arrange escarole leaves on a serving plate and top with the cold cod salad. Alternately, buy frozen baccala fillets and eliminate all the soaking. Just rinse once and proceed
NOTE: traditionally, the baccala or salt cod was prepared from dried salt cod. It would be sold in large, dried flats that had to be submerged in water for days, changing the water several times a day. Then, the still smelly fish, had to be cleaned and the bones removed. Before the task was turned over to my Dad, this was the job of my Little Nonna, who soaked the fish in the cellar laundry tub. She would go down faithfully to change the water, but the odor still permeated throughout the house.
BUONE FESTE e BUON MANGIATI
BACCALA alla MESSINESE
Cod Fish Stew
This is a great recipe from Messina which is a little city in the northeast corner of Sicily.
This wouldn’t be the way my “Toscana” Little Nonna prepared it but most probably the way my Mother-in-Law did or at least very similar as it is the way my husband prepares it for us during Christmas season and Eastertime. “All our holy days are rooted in one food tradition or another; sometimes we feast and sometimes we abstain. “I have friends of many faiths – and it always intrigues me how great a role religion plays in what we eat.
| 2 LBS SALT COD (Baccala) | 2 CELERY RIBS – chopped |
| 2 ONIONS – sliced | 3 TOMATOES – large, ripe, peeled, chopped |
| 1 ½ EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL | 10 LARGE GREEN OLIVES – pitted |
| 1 LB BOILING POTATOES – peeled, quartered | 2 ½ tbs BOTTLED CAPERS – drained |
| 2 ½ TBS PINE NUTS 2 TSP CAYENNE or RED PEPPER FLAKES – to taste | ¼ CUP RAISINS |
In a large glass bowl, let the cod soak in cold water to cover, changing the water several times, for at least 24 hours. Drain the cod and check for skin and bones; removing carefully if you find any.
In a large pot, cook the onions and celery in the oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, just until all are softened. Stir in the tomatoes and ½ cup of water and bring to a slow boil.
Add the cod, potatoes, olives, capers, pine nuts, raisins and cayenne or red pepper flakes. Bring it again to a slow boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook covered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Serve with a side of pasta.
Baccala was a big part of our December dinners and we ate it many different ways. Either my Father or my Little Nonna prepared it. But it was my Little Nonna’s job to soak it because in those days Baccala was not as refined as it is today. It had to be soaked for several days and the smell permeated the house so Little Nonna would trudge down to the celler and soak it in the sink down there making sure the door was closed. Today that odor might turn people off but to us it was just a smell of Christmas coming.
BUON MANGIATA!
Ancora 
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