SEMANA SANTA ON LOCKDOWN

Semana Santa (Holy Week) won’t be the same in Spain this year, without the solemn religious processions wending their way through the streets and the tapa bars thronged with people, both devout and not, seeking refreshment while the drum beat and mournful trumpets resound. It’s all cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis.

My own observance of Holy Week is also constrained. Every year I try out a different recipe for bacalao, dry salt cod, the most emblematic food during Lent and especially for Viernes Santo, Good Friday. I didn’t have the foresight to buy the cod several weeks ago, before lockdown (it keeps long periods without refrigeration). But I do have in the freezer a package of fresh-frozen cod fillets.

So, I’m making a tapa bar favorite, Soldaditos de Pavía, batter-fried salt cod, subbing the frozen fish for the dry salt cod.

"Little soldiers" of batter-fried cod. Typically, they are served with strips of roasted red peppers.

Soldaditos de Pavía means “little soldiers of Pavía.” The “soldiers” are strips of batter-fried cod. The saffron in the batter turns the fritters yellow and they’re usually wrapped in a strips of red pimiento, so they are named, depending on which story you prefer, either for the color of the uniforms worn by the Spanish Hussars who occupied the Italian city of Pavia in a famous battle of 1525, won by Emperor Charles V, or else for the troops of General Pavía, who wore red waistcoasts when in 1874 they stormed Parliament and forced its dissolution at bayonet point, marking the beginning of the end of Spain’s first republic.

I’ve got canned piquillo peppers, a pantry must-have. Instead of topping the fried fish with bands of the red peppers, I made a piquant sauce with them.

If you want to know how to prepare real salt cod, see this blog post.  At the end of that post are links to many recipes using bacalao.

I've used piquillo peppers to make a piquant, pungent alioli sauce to accompany the fried fish. (Photo by Ben Searl.)

Saffron in the batter gives the yellow color.

Soldaditos de Pavía are typical of tapa bars, especially in Sevilla and Madrid.

Inside the crispy coating, fish is moist.

“Little Soldiers” (Batter-Fried Cod)
Soldaditos de Pavía

If you are using dry salt cod, de-salt it by soaking in water for up to 3 days, changing the water several times a day. If using fresh fish, salt it lightly and allow it to stand for 30 minutes. Do not salt thawed frozen fish. Hake can be substituted for cod.

Can’t find yeast? Try the recipe for beer-battered fish instead. See the link to the recipe below.

Serves 4.

Thawed fillets of fresh (not salt) cod.

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
Pinch of saffron threads, crushed
Hand-hot water
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 ¾ pounds cod fillets
Olive oil for frying
Strips of roasted red pepper or canned pimiento
Piquillo pepper alioli, to accompany (recipe follows)

Place the yeast in a small bowl and the saffron in another small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons hot water to each. Let stand 5 minutes.

Batter with yeast for coating fish.

Place the flour in a bowl and combine with the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and stir in the oil, yeast and saffron. Stir in enough additional hot water (6 to 8 tablespoons) to make a smooth batter about the consistency of thick cream.

Cover the bowl with a dampened cloth and let the batter stand for 1 hour. Stir in the parsley and garlic.

Cut the cod into strips of approximately 4 X 1 ½ inches. Pat the fish dry with paper towels.

Place oil in a deep skillet to a depth of 1 inch. Heat until the oil is shimmering, but not smoking (about 355ºF). 

Fry in olive oil. (Photo by Ben Searl.)

Dredge the strips of cod in the batter, letting excess drip off. Carefully place cod in the hot oil, without crowding the pan. Fry the pieces of cod, turning them once, until golden on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a skimmer and drain on paper towels. 

Serve the cod hot with a strips of red pimiento and the piquillo pepper sauce

Piquillo Pepper Alioli

Alioli con Pimientos de Piquillo

The piquillo variety of pepper is bittersweet and mildly piquant. If desired, add a little hot pimentón (paprika), cayenne or Tabasco to the sauce to give it more punch.

Piquillo peppers in a can.

2 cloves garlic
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup drained and coarsely chopped piquillo peppers (about 4)
Salt, to taste
¼ teaspoon hot pimentón (optional)

Finely chop the garlic in a food processor. Add the mayonnaise and process until it is smooth. Add the oil, piquillo peppers, salt and pimentón, if using. Blend until smooth. 

Alioli (garlicky mayonnaise) with piquillo peppers is also good with baked potatoes, beans and grilled chicken.

Another recipe for batter-fried fish:

Beer-Battered Fried Fish with Sour Orange Sauce.

The view from my kitchen window--splendid isolation. Lockdown in Spain has been extended to April 25. I'll need to get out shopping before then.