The protagonist
The protagonist of this post is bacalao, or cod. The trigger was the proximity of two important dates in the Greek Calendar: The 25th March, which is the National Revolution Day in Greece, and Palm Sunday. The Greek tradition has it that on both dates we eat salted cod with garlic sauce or aioli.
The idea here is to present some of the highlights of my “bacalao” experience and some of the ideas that I have seen and appreciate, even though I have not tasted the dish yet.
But history comes first. Here is a post I have written on the history of fishing cod in Newfoundland.
The massive fishing of cod in Newfoundland supplied the European populaiton with the salt dried fish that nurtured generation after generation of people who would otherwise would not have been able to buy and eat fish. In Greece this was also the case. Fresh fish and seafood in Greece was and still is expensive and hard to get, as the quantities are small. The only way a lot of people could eat fish was to import the salt dried cod from abroad.
No lets get to the fish and the dishes.
I will start with some photos of the raw material and then go to the dishes.
You can eat bacalao fresh. The head picture comes form La Boqueria, the Central Market in Barcelona. The filet picture comes from La Bretxa, the Central Market in San Sebastian.
The second filet photo is from my kitchen. You can easily notice the difference in the size of the fish in Spain and in Greece! Not to mention the price. In Greece the fish – even in today’s lousy market conditions – sells for more than 20 Euros per kilo, in Spain it sells for 14 Euros per kilo of filet!
Salted bacalao can be delicious, but is not always. It depends on the quality of the fish and the time of curing and preserving. In any case, the best salted bacalao comes from Spain. I have one shop in Barcelona and another in San Sebastian, where I buy salted bacalao. Superb quality, specialization to the task, they sell more than 15 different cuts of salted bacalao.
Bacalao Wafer
I start the bacalao dishes with one of the most delicious bacalao dishes I have ever tasted. It is Martin Berasategui’s wafer of lightly smoked bacalao, served with a wonderful parmesan sauce, hazelnuts, coffee and vanilla. The thin slice of the fish rests on a puree where the taste and flavor of parmesan cheese is prominent. The fish actually dissolves into the puree and the combination is inspiring!
Esquisada di Bacala
This is a wonderful dish, it is so simple and so difficult at the same time! I tasted it in Ristorante Uliassi, in Senigalia, Italy. Raw cod chunks (salted cod from San Sebastian in the Basque Country, quite possibly the best in the world), with potatoes, pendolini tomatoes and basil.This is a hymn to primary ingredients of the best quality, as the cod’s texture is supplemented by the sweetness of the potatoes and the incredible acidity of the small tomatoes that have been blessed by the volcanic soil of Vesuvius.
Bacalao Tripe
The tripe of bacalao is one of the delicacies I discovered in Cataluna. What a great taste!
Another great dish from Mauro Uliassi (Ristorante Uliassi) Sea Urchin Eggs with bacalao tripe dish. The velvety texture and mild, soothing flavors of the tripe, contrasted with the intensity of the flavors in the sea urchin eggs, creating an unforgettable experience.
I have not yet tasted Carlo Cracco’s (Ristorante Cracco, Milano, Italia) bacalao tripe with rabbit and salmon’s roe, but this recipe definitely can give me a huge appetite, even by reading it.
La Cocina Plural’s Bacalao Tripe with Artichokes and Robellones Mushrooms, reminds me a an excellent dish I tasted in Barcelona’s “Els Pescadors” Restaurante, but instead of mushrooms it was served with rice.
Bacalao in the Boroa Restaurant, near Bilbao
A trio of tastes, grilled, vizcaina and pil pil, served in the Boroa Retaurant, near Bilbao.
Bacalao Cheeks – Kokotxas
This is one of the best recoveries I have made in the great country of the Basques, the Kokotxas! They are the cheeks of the cod (or hake) and are unbelievably soft, velvety smooth in texture, and full of the gelatin of the fresh fish.
The other great Land, Cataluna is also very fond of kokotxas, so here I have a photo taken from the Boqueria market in Barcelona.
I have tasted the perfect dish in Rekondo’s, a restaurant in San Sebastian.
Fried Cod
This is simply fried cod. I tasted it in the Fishtavern Aristodimos in Pachi, near Megara, some 40 km west of Athens. As you can see the fish is fresh, and small. Overall, cod in Greece is small, the size rarely goes over 2 kilos. The fish is cut in small pieces and fried in olive oil. Here what matters the most is the technique of the cook, so that the fish is juicy inside, and crispy outside. This case was a success.
Bacalao Pil Pil
This is a dish from the Basque country, delicious in its simplicity and execution.
Bacalao with Estragon
This is my recipe, based on my love for the two key ingredients: the bacalao and estragon.
Many more dishes could be here, but this is not the point.
The point is that like every great food, bacalao is the source of inspiration for many great chefs of the world, and pleasure for the millions of people enjoying it in their meals.
One of the minimalist school dishes that I have created, slow cooked bacalao fillets in a sea of garlic and red chilli peppers, served on top of steamed crunchy string beans.
It cannot easily get better than that!
Brandada de Bacalao – Salt Cod Mash (Brandade)
This is another favourite, a dish popular in Spain, Portugal and France.