Baccala is a salted, dried cod which can be stored for long periods of time. It must be soaked in water at least 24 hours ahead to hydrate the fish and remove excess salt. Changing the water during soaking helps reduce the salt levels.
Preparation
Cooking
Skill level
Ingredients
- 2 x 200 g pieces of salted cod (baccala)
- Plain flour, for dusting
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups Italian tomato sauce
- 1 cup peas
- 100 g sugar snap peas
Cook's notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Instructions
Soaking time: 24 hours
- Soak cod in water for 24 hours. Drain and put in fresh water to cover. You can repeat this process if the cod is still too salty.
- Place a little flour in a bowl. Dip fish pieces into the flour to coat, dusting off any excess.
- Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat, then sear the fish skin-side down for 2 minutes, flip and cook for another 2 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Remove the frying pan off the heat and add in tomato sauce and regular peas into the pan so that it doesn’t splutter. Return to heat and cover pan with a lid to stew for 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
- Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to the boil. Add in sugar snap peas and blanch for 1 minute. Strain and place peas into a small bowl.
- Serve hot, dressing the sugar snap peas with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
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