Salt cod, soaked back to life over 2-3 days, then simmered with tomatoes, olives, capers, pine nuts. A traditional Christmas Eve dish in Naples (Cenone della Vigilia). Briny, deep, almost sweet from slow cooking.
Baccalà alla Napoletana
Salt cod, soaked back to life over 2-3 days, then simmered with tomatoes, olives, capers, pine nuts. A traditional Christmas Eve dish in Naples (Cenone della Vigilia). Briny, deep, almost sweet from slow cooking.
Ingredients
Method
- After soaking, the cod should be tender to a knife and only mildly salty. Pat dry. Cut into 4 portions.
- Heat olive oil in a wide skillet over medium. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes (don’t brown).
- Add tomatoes, olives, capers, pine nuts, drained raisins, and red pepper flakes. Simmer 15 minutes.
- Lay the cod pieces in the sauce. Spoon some sauce over them. Cover partially and simmer 15-20 minutes — DON’T flip the cod or it falls apart. Done when it flakes with a fork.
- Off heat, scatter parsley. Black pepper. Serve with crusty bread or boiled potatoes — no pasta, despite the saucy look.
Notes
If you can’t find baccalà, use pre-soaked baccalà (sold ready to cook in some Italian stores) or sub fresh cod (just season with salt then). The traditional baccalà has unmatched depth — worth the soak.