HOMAGE TO BACALAO

 

Salt cod is poached in olive oil, finished in a tomato sauce with olives.

As Semana Santa rolls around again, I am preparing my annual homage to bacalao—dry salt cod—one of the most emblematic foods for Holy Week in Spain. During Lent, the religious observe days of vigilia, or fasting days, when meat is proscribed. In bygone times, before refrigeration, often salt cod was the only fish available. So this fish—which is not even fished in Spanish waters—has become part of the Holy Week culture. Every region of the country has its distinctive bacalao recipes. 

Salt cod is to fresh fish sort of like ham is to fresh pork. Salt-curing alters the taste and texture of the fish. Cod must be soaked in water to rehydrate it and remove much of the salt.  Salt cod is not “raw,” as the curing process, in effect, cooks it. It only needs to be gently heated, just until the flakes sort of slide apart. 

This year I’m preparing a traditional Andalusian bacalao recipe, cooking the cod with a tomato sauce with olives. Instead of the traditional way of first flouring and quick-frying the pieces of cod, I am preparing them in confit, poached in olive oil at low temperature. 

The cod confit can be made in the oven or in a heavy pan or cazuela on top of the stove. I decided it would be easier to control the temperature in the oven. In any case, you’ll need an instant-read or deep-frying thermometer to check the temperature of the oil. Remember, the cod doesn’t need cooking. It only needs to heat until, when prodded with a fork, the flakes separate easily. 

Poaching oil can be used to fry potatoes to accompany the cod and sauce.

Instead of parsley, I'm using sprigs of wild fennel to garnish the cod in tomato sauce. A touch of spring.

Cod is perfectly cooked when flakes easily separate. 

Salt Cod with Tomato Sauce and Olives, Andalusian Style

Bacalao con Tomate y Aceitunas a la Andaluza

Start this recipe two days in advance of serving, as the salt cod needs to soak covered in water for 36 hours.

A side of salt cod. This weighed about 25 ounces and, after filleting and trimming, yielded four fillets and thinner scraps to be saved for another use.

Takes patience to remove fins, spine and small bones from the cod. Easier--buy lomo, center-cut fillets. 

Fillets ready! I saved the two smallest pieces for another recipe.

You can buy lomos de bacalao, thick, center-cut pieces, almost boneless, or a whole side of salt cod. If you start out with a whole fish, after soaking, use a filleting knife to remove fins, center spine and bones. Do not remove the skin, as the gelatin in the skin helps to thicken the tomato sauce. Divide into four thick pieces. Save the thin and scrappy bits for another use.

Use good extra virgin olive oil for the confit. You’ll need a little of the poaching oil to make the tomato sauce. The remainder can be used for another purpose—for example, to fry potatoes to accompany the cod. It’s good, too, in mayonnaise or dressing for tuna or other seafood salad. 

Serves 4.

1 pound salt cod fillets

1 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil (more, as needed)

4 cloves garlic

¾ cup chopped onion

3 cups chopped or crushed canned tomatoes

1 bay leaf

Sprig of thyme, fennel or oregano (optional)

¼ teaspoon salt

Black or green olives, pitted

Chopped fennel or parsley, to garnish

Hard-boiled eggs, quartered, to serve

Fried potatoes to accompany (optional)

36 hours before serving:

Cut the cod into four more or less equal portions. Do not remove the skin. Rinse the cod in running water and place it in a non-reactive container. Cover the cod with cold water. Cover the container and refrigerate. Drain and cover with fresh water four times during the soaking period, about 36 hours total.

To cook the cod:

Drain the cod, squeezing it gently to expel retained water. Pat the pieces dry. Pour some of the oil into a baking dish just large enough to hold the pieces of cod in a single layer. Place the cod in the dish, skin side down, and add the remaining oil to completely cover the cod. Lightly crush 3 of the cloves of garlic and add them, without peeling, to the baking dish.

Cod ready when flakes separate.

     Place the baking dish in the cold oven and set the temperature to 225ºF. After the oven reaches temperature, let the cod cook 10 minutes. Test the temperature of the oil (use an instant-read or deep-frying thermometer). Keep testing every 5 minutes until the oil reaches 140ºF and the cod flakes easily when prodded with a fork, approximately 30 minutes total.  

     Remove the baking dish from the oven. Lift the cod fillets out onto a plate and tent them with foil.

Poaching oil covers the cod fillets.

Ladle ¼ cup of the oil into a pan and heat gently. Chop the remaining clove of garlic and add to the oil with the onion. Sauté on moderate heat 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, sprig of herbs and salt. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, reduce heat and partially cover the pan. Simmer the sauce until thickened and reduced, 30 minutes.

Discard bay leaf and sprig of herbs. Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until fairly smooth. Add the olives to the sauce and reheat. Place the cod fillets in the sauce and reheat them very gently.

Serve the cod and tomato sauce garnished with chopped fennel or parsley. Add quartered egg. Accompany, if desired, with potatoes fried in some of the oil that was used to poach the cod. 

More recipes with bacalao:

Salt Cod in Garlic PilPil Sauce.

Chickpeas, Spinach and Cod.

Valencia Rice with Cod and "Cobblestones."

Cod Fritters with Molasses.

NOT YOUR MOM’S POT ROAST

As a kid, I loved my mom’s pot roast, a once a week meal for a family of six. A big hunk of beef chuck, generously sprinkled with salt and pepper, potatoes, carrots and onions alongside, all roasted until the meat was fork-tender and the onions and carrots nearly caramelized. “Greasy pot roast,” we called it, because so much fat cooked off the beef.

The pot roast was served with ketchup and mom’s home-made “chili sauce,” a Midwestern-style tomato-green pepper-onion condiment. Any leftover meat she used to make “barbecue,” shredded beef in tomato sauce, piled on hamburger buns. (At that stage of life, I had yet to sample tacos.)

Feeding nostalgia, I have tried to replicate my mother’s pot roast. But Spanish beef—ternera—just doesn’t do it. I wind up with dry and stringy meat. For juiciness I’ve had better luck with pork shoulder, especially if from ibérico pigs. 

But here’s another option—pot-roasted fresh tuna. It’s larded with strips of bacon which help to keep it juicy; slow-cooked in an onion-rich sauce with lots of olive oil, and carefully monitored so it doesn’t overcook and become dry. Unlike a beef pot roast, this one needs only about 30 minutes to cook. 

Meaty tuna is larded with strips of bacon and braised with onions and Sherry.

 

Serve the onion gravy with pot-roasted tuna.

Cook tuna to medium--still pink in the center--so it stays juicy.

Pot-Roasted Tuna

Atún Mechado

Fresh, uncooked tuna.

It’s easier to push the strips of bacon or salt pork (tocino) through the tuna if the bacon is partially frozen first. 

Fresh tuna needs to be soaked in cold water. If the tuna has been frozen, do not soak it, but rinse and pat dry. 

Overcooking makes for dry tuna. Braise it only long enough to cook it until pink—medium—in the center (125ºF on an instant-read thermometer). 

Serves 6.

1 slice thick-cut bacon (1 ounce)

2 pounds tuna

8 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Flour for coating the tuna

Salt

1/3 cup olive oil 

2 medium onions, cut in julienne slices

½ cup fino Manzanilla or Sherry

1 cup fish stock or water

2 bay leaves

8 peppercorns

1 clove

Chopped parsely to garnish

Cut the slice of bacon lengthwise into 3 or 4 strips. Place them on a saucer and place in the freezer to firm them, 30 minutes.

Remove any scales from the tuna, but leave the skin on. Place the tuna in a deep bowl and cover with cold water. Let it soak 30 minutes. Drain and pat the tuna dry.

Crush 2 cloves of garlic in a mortar with the coarse salt. Add pepper, finely chopped parsley and lemon juice.

Poke a hole in tuna with chopstick.

Use a skewer or chopstick to poke 3 or 4 holes through the piece of tuna. Push some of the garlic-parsley mixture into the slots. Then push through a strip of bacon so that it is threaded all the way through the thickness of the tuna.

Dredge the tuna in flour and pat off the excess. Heat the oil in a heavy pot or deep skillet. Brown the tuna on moderate heat, turning to brown all sides. Remove the tuna.

Add the onions to the oil in the pan. Lightly crush the remaining 6 cloves of garlic without peeling them. Add them to the onions. Sauté 8 minutes until onions are beginning to brown. Add the fino Manzanilla and cook 3 minutes until the alcohol is cooked off. Add the fish stock, bay leaves, peppercorns and clove. 

It's easier to brown the tuna and onions in a skillet, then transfer to a heavy, lidded pot to finish cooking.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and return the tuna to the pan. (Or, transfer the onions and liquid to a heavy pot and place the tuna in it.)

Tuna braises in heavy pot.

 Cover tightly and cook on low heat 10 minutes.

 Turn the piece of tuna so another side is down and cook 5 minutes more. Turn again for 5 minutes or until the tuna is cooked medium (still a little pink in the center, internal temperature of 125ºF), about 25 minutes total cooking time. 

 Remove the tuna to a cutting board and let it rest 5 minutes. Use a slicing knife to cut thin slices. 

Pot-roasted tuna, ready to serve, hot or cold.

Options for leftovers: Add chunks of pot-roasted tuna to a sofrito with onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and olives. Serve with zucchini "noodles," as pictured; egg noodles, or rice.

Another sort of pot roast: Larded Pork Pot Roast.

More recipes with fresh tuna:

About tuna.

Tuna in Salad.

Tomatoes and Peppers with Tuna (Titaina).

Grilled Albacore Tuna.

Basque Tuna-Potato Stew (Marmitako).

Grilled Tuna with Onion Confit.

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU BITTER ORANGES--

 

Bitter oranges, blue sky.

I once lived in an old house in the pueblo with a big, overgrown garden behind it. Stone dry walls divided the sloping garden into terraces which were planted with trees—an olive, a fig, orange and lemon, peach, pear and apricot, plus a flamboyant pomegranate and an exotic chirimoya.  

Having never had an orange tree in my backyard before, I thrilled to its progress from fragrant bloom to small green nubbins to ripening oranges. When they looked sufficiently ripe, I picked one, peeled it and popped a section in my mouth. It was unbelievably sour! My tree apparently had never been grafted and made only bitter “marmalade” oranges. What to do with so many sour oranges? Make marmalade. I made so much that I put a sign on the front door and sold it to passers-by. My marmalade pesetas went a long way in 1967.

The bitter, bigarade or Seville orange (the peel is bitter, the juice is sour), called agria or cachorreña, is still grown ornamentally and is used as root stock for varieties of sweet oranges. I recently saw a news item that Sevilla, where the collection of rotting oranges on city streets is an annual problem, will start recycling the fruit to make bio-fuel to generate electricity. 

I have a bitter orange tree in the garden where I live now. The sweet orange graft a couple years ago didn’t take, so I’m gathering the bitter fruit to make a very traditional Málaga fish soup, sopa de cachorreñas (link to recipe below). I’m also using the sour juice  in some other ways—in an adobo marinade for turkey breast and in an olive oil mayonnaise to sauce the turkey and asparagus.

Turkey breast marinated in sour orange juice with asparagus and a salad of sweet clementines.

Blender mayonnaise with extra virgin olive oil and the juice of sour oranges.

Serve the orange mayo with asparagus and with the turkey.

Turkey Breast with Sour Orange Marinade

Pechuga de Pavo en Adobo con Naranja Agria

1 ½ - 2 pounds boneless turkey breast, in one piece

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon smoked pimentón (smoked paprika)

Pinch of pimentón picante (hot paprika)

3 tablespoons sour orange juice

½ teaspoon oregano

Sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons olive oil

Sour Orange Mayonnaise, to accompany (recipe follows)

Adobo marinade for turkey breast.

     Place the turkey in a non-reactive container. Sprinkle on all sides with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, two kinds of pimentón, orange juice, oregano, thyme and bay leaves. Pour the oil over the turkey. Cover the container and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours, turning it once or twice. 

     Bring the turkey to room temperature before roasting.

     Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place the turkey in an oven-safe roasting dish just big enough to hold it. Pour all the marinade over it. Roast the turkey 10 minutes. 

     Lower the oven temperature to 350ºF. Remove the turkey from the oven and baste it with juices in the pan. Return to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 145ºF., about 45 minutes longer. (Timing will depend on the thickness of the piece of turkey. Take care not to overcook it.)

If the turkey is to be served hot, let it rest 10 minutes before carving. If to be served cold, let the whole piece cool, then refrigerate it, covered. Place the chilled meat on a cutting board and slice thinly. 

Serve the turkey accompanied by Sour Orange Mayonnaise.

Sour Orange Mayonnaise

Mayonesa con Naranja Agria

This quantity of sour orange juice thins the mayonnaise, although it will firm up somewhat when chilled. If sour orange juice is not available, substitute lemon juice or vinegar or try vinegar with sweet orange juice. 

1 large egg

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon smoked pimentón (smoked paprika)

½ teaspoon pimentón (paprika, not smoked)

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup sour orange juice

Place the egg in a blender container. Add the salt and pimentón. Add the oil. Run the blender until the egg and oil emulsify and thicken. If using an immersion blender, then move the wand up and down a few times to incorporate any oil that didn’t mix. Pour in the orange juice and blend again. 

Store the sauce, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week. 

Mayonnaise with sour orange juice is the consistency of thick cream. For the garnish, blanch strips of orange zest in boiling water, then cut in thin julienne strips. Add a dash of pimentón for color.

The sour juice substitutes for lemon or vinegar in mayonnaise. It goes well with asparagus, artichokes, green beans, potatoes, fish, poultry. 

Orange Marmalade

Mermelada de Naranja

For making marmalade, save seeds which add pectin that helps the marmalade jell.

This is the traditional recipe I used for making orange marmalade. It’s a three-day procedure. You first weigh the fruit. For each kilo of oranges, allow one litre of water and one kilo of sugar. If you like a very bitter marmalade, use equal quantities of bitter, Seville oranges and sweet oranges, plus a couple of lemons. If you prefer a sweeter flavor, use a greater proportion of sweet oranges to bitter ones and only one lemon.

Day 1: Wash the oranges, weigh them and soak them in fresh water for several hours. Then shred, chop or finely slice them, catching all the juice and reserving the seeds in a separate bowl. Add enough water to cover the seeds and set them aside. Add the required quantity of water (1 litre per kilo of oranges) to the oranges. Cover and let them set for 24 hours.

Day 2: Cook the oranges very slowly until they are tender, about one hour. Cover and let set overnight.

Day 3: Add the sugar and let the oranges set for 6 hours. Put the seeds and their liquid (it will be quite gelatinous from the pectin) into a strainer and strain the liquid into the oranges. Bring the oranges to a boil and regulate the heat so they just bubble gently. Stir occasionally. (A heat-tamer pad under the pot helps prevent scorching.) The marmalade is done when a small quantity dropped on a cold surface does not run. Timing depends on the quantity of oranges being processed, but the jelling can easily take an hour. Pack while hot into sterile jars and seal.

More recipes with bitter oranges:

Fish Soup with Sour Orange.

Anchovies in Sour Orange Escabeche.

Beer-Battered Fish with Sour Orange Sauce.