Bacalao a la Gallega

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide lidded saucepan, about 30cm
• •Small heavy frying pan, 18 to 20cm
• •Broad fish slice or slotted spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Desalt the cod

   If you're starting with dry-salted cod, rinse off the loose surface salt and place the pieces skin-side up in a bowl large enough to hold them without crowding. Cover by 5cm with cold water and refrigerate for 48 hours, changing the water every 8 hours. Drain and pat dry. If you're using frozen pre-desalted bacalao, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and begin with the next step.

   Before cooking the whole fish, cut a thumbnail-sized flake from the thickest piece and simmer it in plain water for 30 seconds. Taste it. If it is still sharply salty, soak the cod for another 4 hours in fresh cold water. Pésalo, no lo adivines, and taste it too.
2. 2

   Start the potatoes

   Put the potato rounds, onion wedges, bay leaf, and 1.5 litres of cold water in a wide saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer steadily for 10 to 12 minutes. The potatoes should be nearly tender but still offer a little resistance when pierced, because they finish cooking with the cod.

3. 3

   Poach the cod

   Lower the cod into the pan skin-side down among the potatoes. Reduce the heat until the water barely moves and never let it return to a hard boil. Cover partly and poach for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on thickness, until the flesh is opaque, separates into moist flakes under light pressure, and reaches 63°C at the thickest point. Turn off the heat and leave it in the water for 2 minutes.

   Boiling tightens salt cod and scatters it through the pan. A quiet poach keeps the pieces whole and the flakes juicy.
4. 4

   Drain and arrange

   Lift the cod onto a warm plate with a broad fish slice. Discard the bay leaf, then drain the potatoes and onion well. Taste one potato. The cod usually seasons the cooking water, but if the potato tastes flat, sprinkle the vegetables with up to 3g salt. Arrange the potatoes across a warm serving platter, add the onion, and set the cod on top. Cover loosely while you make the ajada.

5. 5

   Make the ajada

   Put the olive oil and sliced garlic in a cold frying pan, then set it over low heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until the garlic is pale gold with lightly crisp edges. Take the pan completely off the heat and wait 60 seconds. Stir in the sweet pimentón and the hot pimentón, if using, for 10 seconds, then slowly add the vinegar once the fierce sizzling has settled. The paprika goes in off the flame because it scorches in moments, and burnt pimentón makes the whole dressing bitter.

   Don't wait for the garlic to turn brown. It continues cooking in the oil after the pan leaves the heat.
6. 6

   Spoon and serve

   Spoon the hot ajada over the cod, potatoes, and onion, making sure every serving receives garlic and plenty of red oil. Leave it for 2 minutes so the potatoes drink in the dressing, then serve from the platter. Bread for the oil is not decoration. It is good sense.

Chef Tips

• •Buy thick skin-on salt cod from a fishmonger or a Portuguese, Galician, or Caribbean grocer. Frozen pre-desalted bacalao is a sound choice; thaw it in the refrigerator and taste a cooked flake before adding any salt.
• •For a less costly plate, use 800g of desalted tail pieces or large bacalao trimmings instead of centre-cut loins. Keep the pieces large and begin checking them after 4 minutes. The platter looks less tidy, but the cured flavour is the same.
• •If salt cod is unavailable, sprinkle 800g thick fresh cod portions evenly with 8g fine sea salt and refrigerate for 6 hours. Rinse briefly and pat dry before poaching. Fresh cod is softer and milder, so it is a compromise, not the same fish under another name.
• •Use sweet pimentón with a fresh, full smell. Ordinary sweet paprika works if that is what you can buy, but the ajada will have less smoky depth. Whatever you use, add it away from the flame.
• •A dry Ribeiro branco, especially one led by Treixadura, belongs comfortably beside this. Its acidity clears the olive oil without bullying the cod.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them within 2 days. Reheat the cod and potatoes covered over low heat with a spoonful of water, then add a little fresh ajada if the dish looks dry.

Advance Preparation

• •Dry-salted cod needs 48 hours in cold water in the refrigerator, with the water changed every 8 hours. Keep the bowl at or below 4°C throughout.
• •Frozen pre-desalted bacalao can thaw overnight in the refrigerator, reducing the full preparation to about 55 minutes the next day.
• •The potatoes may be peeled and sliced up to 4 hours ahead if kept submerged in cold water in the refrigerator. Drain them before cooking.
• •Slice the garlic up to 2 hours ahead, but make the ajada while the cooked cod rests. Its garlic tastes best before it softens in the oil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 510g)