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Title: Bacalao Ala Viscaina V1.01
Categories: Fish Blank
Yield: 6 Servings
| 1 | lb | Potatoes; new, small, white seenote |
| 1/4 | c | Olive oil |
| 2 | lg | Onion; white onion, peeled chop |
| 3 | lg | Garlic; minced |
| 4 | md | Tomato; about 2 pounds |
| Above chopped coarse; or two 14.5oz cans | ||
| 1/4 | lb | Ham; cured, chopped |
| 1/4 | c | Parsley; chopped |
| 1 | ts | Cinnamon; ground |
| 1 | pn | Cloves; ground |
| 1 | lb | Salt cod; see note |
| 4 | md | Pickled jalapeno chilis; slice thin |
| 12 | lg | Olives pimento stuffed; slice in half |
MikeNote: Potatoes, small new white potatoes, Cut into 3/4 inch chunks if large. MikeNote Cod: Place cod into a container with two or three quarts of water, soak 24 hours changing the water 3 times. Taste the water to see if it is just slightly salty, that is what you want. When done soaking place the cod into a pan with cold water to cover and very slowly bring to a simmer, let it take an hour to bring it to the simmer...Cool and drain cod and break into 1 1/2 inches pieces.
Put the potatoes in a large pan of cold salted water, cutting any large potatoes in half or quarters first Bring the water to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork, 15-20 minutes. Drain and when cool enough to handle, peel , set aside. An authentic twist is to fry the cooked potatoes to get a light brown crust. then break them up into the pan. In a heavy pan such as a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to very low and slowly sauté about one hour. Stir occasionally, watching that the onion doesn't burn A few dribbles of oil may be necessary. Preheat oven to 300 F.. Turn up the heat, add the garlic and tomato and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thick and the liquid is substantially reduced, about 10-15 minutes. Add the ham, parsley, pepper, cinnamon and cloves. Then gently stir the cod, potatoes, jalapeno and their juice into the tomato mixture Transfer to a 1 qt casserole, preferably clay, sprinkle with the olives and bake for 30 minutes. Bacalao a la Viscaina can be made ahead and re-heated in a 300 F. oven for 20 minutes or until thoroughly hot.
This is V1.01 on 2/2/98
recipe notes: This version of Mexico's traditional recipe is from Lorena Buerba author and cook. The onions traditionally cook over very low heat for up to an hour, giving them a rich, slightly sweet flavor, but to save time you can reduce the cooking time. Browned but not burned are the keywords.
The Bacalao is usually served only with hard French rolls, but a leafy salad with some spinach or bitter greens is a good addition. This dish is dramatically better reheated and served the next day, the distinct flavors of both the fish and the sauce intensified. Leftovers make wonderful fillings for sandwiches, using the same hard rolls, slices of avocados, tomato, and if your palate can take it, more jalapeno.
Finally put to Paper... Thanks to Marilyn Tausend and Lorena Buerba. Typed and cooked several times by Mike Stock 1/31/98 [mws] I cooked this the first time on NYD in 1993 [mws] These notes below added for clarity. 2/2/98 [mws] With six thousand miles of coastline, the original Mexicans had a diet rich in seafood, many of these seafood dishes just have not made it here to the states yet.
[mws] Some of these dishes of course come from the Portuguese and Spanish sailors that landed there in the 1500's. I feel sure that these celebratory dishes are from the Latin sailors and their imprinted beliefs and traditions.
[mws] Dried cod (have we hashed this out before?), was widely used as far back as the 9th century, but salt cod (and that preservation method) was not around until the 16th century when the Basque sailors ate salted cod on their exploration and even short haul journeys. Some of these very sailors took this recipe to Mexico.
[mws] When the creative Indian cooks added the new ingredients of potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and spices, they enlivened this traditional dish. These ingredients added depth to Bacalao and many other dishes that today we attribute entirely to the Latin culture.
Contributor: Mike Stock Preparation Time: 3 days
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