Creamy Milk-Braised Salt Cod — Baccalà alla Vicentina
The Vicenza specialty of soaked salt cod slowly simmered in milk with onions, anchovies, parmigiano, and parsley until the fish breaks into creamy pearl-white flakes in a pale silken sauce, served traditionally with soft yellow polenta.
Italian
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Rinse and pat dry pre-soaked salt cod; cut into 4cm pieces. Dust with flour and black pepper, shaking off excess. Finely chop 240g onion, 8 anchovy fillets, and 4 tbsp parsley. Measure milk, olive oil, grated parmigiano, polenta, water, salt, and butter.
Saute
Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat 1 minute. Add onion, cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally until translucent. Add anchovies and parsley, cook 2 minutes pressing with a wooden spoon until melted into oil.
Build
Lay floured cod pieces in a single layer over the onion bed. Pour 600ml milk over until just covering fish. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, then reduce to very low. Cook 90 minutes uncovered, spooning milky liquid over cod every 20 minutes.
Simmer
While cod finishes cooking, bring 600ml water and 0.5 tsp salt to boil in a separate pan. Whisk in polenta in a steady stream over low heat. Cook 20 minutes whisking every 3 to 4 minutes until thick and pulling from pan sides.
Finish
After 90 minutes, milk will have reduced into pale creamy sauce. Gently stir in 40g parmigiano without breaking cod. Cook uncovered 8 more minutes until sauce coats a spoon. Beat butter into finished polenta off the heat.
Plate
Spoon soft polenta into warm wide bowls. Lift cod pieces onto polenta with a slotted spoon. Spoon creamy sauce around cod. Scatter finishing parmigiano, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and finish with black pepper. Serve immediately.
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