B is for Bacalao

Salting cod in the 19th century

Salted cod for sale

Bacalao is fresh cod loin which has been salted in order that it be preserved. The tradition of making bacalao dates back many centuries and is in no way particular to the Spanish, though it is an essential ingredient for Basque cuisine.

 

Salt cod is also produced in Canada, Iceland, and Norway, and has been for over 500 years. It forms a traditional ingredient of the cuisine of many countries around the Atlantic. Traditionally, salt cod was dried only by the wind and the sun, hanging on wooden scaffolding or lying on clean cliffs or rocks near the seaside.

The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage life of several years.  The method was cheap, the work could be done by the fisherman or his family, and the resulting product was easily transported to market. Salting became economically feasible during the 17th century, when cheap salt from southern Europe became available to the maritime nations of northern Europe.

 

Nowadays, in Spain, you can buy bacalao in the supermarket. In order to use it, you must soak it in water for at least 24 hours, changing the water periodically.

 

Salted cod goes really well with roast tomatoes, chickpeas, and many leaves, including rocket.

The best way to cook it ti to place it in cold water and bring it to the boil. Once the fish is entirely opaque it is ready. This does not take long. 

In Andalusia, there is a wonderful salad of salted cod, oranges, and walnut. We serve this in Cava at the moment.

Perhaps most famously, Bacalao is used to made salted cod cakes, called Buñuelos de bacalao in Spanish These have been on the menu in Cava since we opened and will presumably be there for a long time to come.

 

Buñuelos de bacalao