Vicenza-Style Salt Cod (Baccalà alla Vicentina)

La storia di questo piatto

Baccalà alla Vicentina is the Veneto's patient answer to dried cod: stockfish, softened and slow, resting in milk until it turns tender and quietly sweet. It belongs to Vicenza's table, where humble ingredients are given time instead of hurry.

Ingredienti

• 800 g Dried stockfish (ragno or kopfen)
• 1.2 L Whole milk
• 4 medium White onions
• 5 fillets Salted anchovies
• 100 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
• quanto basta to taste Salt
• abbondante as needed Cold water for soaking (plenty, changed every 8-12 hours)
• 60 g Type 00 flour
• 1 bunch Fresh chopped parsley
• 300 g White or yellow polenta (to serve)

Preparazione

1. Beat the dried stockfish with a meat mallet or rolling pin to soften its fibers. Place it in a large basin, cover with plenty of cold water and leave it to soak in a cool place or in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, changing the water every 8-12 hours. It is ready when the flesh, pressed with a finger, yields evenly. This resting time (about 48 hours) is excluded from the preparation time indicated, which covers only active work and cooking.
2. Peel the onions and slice them thinly. Finely chop the parsley and set it aside together with the onions.
3. Rinse the soaked stockfish and pat it dry. Remove the skin, the central bone and the lateral spines. Cut the flesh into even pieces of 6-8 cm, dry them well with paper towels and lightly dust them with type 00 flour, shaking off the excess.
4. Heat half the oil (50 ml) in a wide, shallow pot over low heat. Gently brown the whole garlic for 2-3 minutes, then remove it. Add the desalted, boned anchovies and stir for about 5 minutes until they melt. Add the onions and soften them over low heat for 25-30 minutes, until translucent and tender without taking on color.
5. Arrange the stockfish pieces over the bed of onions, in as single a layer as possible. Sprinkle with half the parsley and the pepper. Pour in the warm milk until it just covers the fish, reserving a little to top up.
6. Cover and cook over the lowest possible flame, at the barest simmer, for 3-4 hours. Do not use a spoon: shake the pot about every 30 minutes so the bottom does not stick. The liquid must always stay just level with the fish; if it drops too much, top up with warm milk. Halfway through cooking, drizzle in the remaining 50 ml of oil while shaking the pot in circular motions to emulsify the sauce.
7. Taste and adjust the salt carefully, since the anchovies and the fish already release plenty. The sauce should be creamy and coat the back of a spoon. If it is too loose, remove the lid and reduce over high heat for a few minutes, shaking the pot. Stir in the remaining parsley at the end of cooking.
8. Serve the salt cod piping hot with its sauce, accompanied by hot polenta and, if desired, slices of toasted bread. Finish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.