Chef Isabel
Abanico Ibérico a la Plancha
Extremadura's dehesa gives us this fan-shaped, marbled rib cut: salt it at the last moment, lay it on a fierce plancha, and count in seconds so the centre stays juicy.
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Bacalao con Pasas y Piñones
Created by
Catalan salt cod for the Lenten table, crisped lightly in flour, then settled into a dark, sweet onion sauce where raisins plump, pine nuts toast, and the fish stays in broad, pearly flakes.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Easter
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
30 min
Active Time
55 min cook•1 hr 25 min total
Yield4 servings
Bacallà amb panses i pinyons is Catalan, a Lenten main of salt cod browned lightly in flour and settled into sofregit with raisins, pine nuts, and hard-boiled egg. What makes it Catalan is that old sweet-savory balance: preserved fish against dried fruit and nuts, held together by onion and tomato cooked until neither tastes raw. This is food for the Easter table, substantial enough for a full household without a scrap of meat.
The sofregit, the slow onion and tomato base, decides the dish. Take the onion to dark gold before the tomato goes in. That drives off its water and gives a deep sweetness, so the swollen raisins round the salt cod instead of making the sauce sugary. Fry the fish only long enough to set its flour coat, then finish it at the gentlest simmer. Broad flakes are the aim. Rubble is for another day.
No hace falta haber pisado España. Desalted salt cod is often easier to find frozen than dry, and it works very well. If salt cod is nowhere to be found, cure thick fresh cod overnight with the exact amount of salt given in the tips; it will be milder and more fragile because a short cure cannot supply the depth of proper bacallà. At Easter, use preserved summer tomato or good canned whole tomatoes instead of a pale fresh one. In the Margin beside this recipe I wrote one instruction twice: shake the casserole, don't stir the fish.
Bacallà amb panses i pinyons belongs to Catalonia's Lenten table, when abstinence removed meat and durable salt cod made a substantial fish dish possible even far inland. The cod itself came from northern Atlantic waters, but salting allowed it to enter the Catalan larder and become deeply tied to vigils and Holy Week. Raisins and pine nuts preserve the old Catalan taste for bringing fruit, nuts, and savory food together, while hard-boiled egg gives the meatless casserole enough substance for the main meal.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
desalted salt cod loin
Quantity
800g
skin on, cut into 4 portions and thoroughly dried
seedless raisins
Quantity
75g
pine nuts
Quantity
40g
large eggs
Quantity
2
plain flour
Quantity
50g
for dusting
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
150ml
divided between shallow-frying and the sofregit
yellow onions
Quantity
350g
halved and thinly sliced
garlic
Quantity
1 clove
finely chopped
tomato pulp
Quantity
250g
from ripe grated tomato or drained canned whole tomatoes
bay leaf
Quantity
1
warm water
Quantity
200ml
fine sea salt (optional)
Quantity
up to 2g
use only after tasting the sauce
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| desalted salt cod loinskin on, cut into 4 portions and thoroughly dried | 800g |
| seedless raisins | 75g |
| pine nuts | 40g |
| large eggs | 2 |
| plain flourfor dusting | 50g |
| extra virgin olive oildivided between shallow-frying and the sofregit | 150ml |
| yellow onionshalved and thinly sliced | 350g |
| garlicfinely chopped | 1 clove |
| tomato pulpfrom ripe grated tomato or drained canned whole tomatoes | 250g |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| warm water | 200ml |
| fine sea salt (optional)use only after tasting the sauce | up to 2g |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy casserole or sauté pan, 28 to 30cm
- •Small saucepan for the eggs
- •Fish spatula
- •Kitchen scale
Instructions
- 1
Check the cod
Run your fingers over the cod and remove any pin bones, then dry every surface well with kitchen paper. Cook a small shaving in a dry pan and taste it. It should be distinctly seasoned but pleasant. If it is still sharply salty, soak the portions in fresh cold water for another 2 hours in the refrigerator, then dry them again. Wet cod spits in the oil and its flour coat slides off.
- 2
Prepare the additions
Cover the raisins with the 200ml warm water and leave them for 20 minutes. Drain them, reserving every drop of the soaking water. Meanwhile, put the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for 10 minutes. Cool, peel, and quarter them. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, moving them constantly, until pale gold. Set them aside before they darken.
Pine nuts turn from gold to burnt while your back is turned. Take them out of the pan as soon as they colour, because the hot pan keeps cooking them. - 3
Fry the cod
Spread the flour on a plate. Coat the cod lightly and shake off every loose patch. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry the cod in two batches, skin side down first, for about 2 1/2 minutes, then turn and fry the flesh side for 1 minute. You are setting a thin golden coat, not cooking the fish through. Lift it out carefully and keep it in broad pieces.
- 4
Cook the sofregit
Leave 45ml of the frying oil in the pan and remove any dark flour crumbs. Lower the heat, add the onions with 1g salt, and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft, dark gold, and almost jammy. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato and bay leaf, then cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the tomato is thick and the oil begins to show around the edges. This sofregit, the slow onion and tomato base, decides the dish. Rush it and the raisins taste merely sweet; cook it properly and they belong in the sauce.
- 5
Build the sauce
Add the soaked raisins and their reserved water to the sofregit. Scrape the bottom gently and simmer for 5 minutes, until the raisins begin to swell and the sauce loosens but is no longer watery. Taste before adding any more salt. The bacalao will bring salt of its own, so use the remaining 1g only if the sauce truly needs it.
- 6
Finish the cod
Set the cod into the sauce skin side down and spoon a little sauce over each piece. Add half the toasted pine nuts, cover loosely, and keep the pan at the gentlest simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Place the egg quarters around the fish for the final 3 minutes. Do not stir or turn the cod. Shake the pan by its handles so the flour and oil bind the sauce without breaking the fish. It is ready when the centre is opaque and separates into moist, broad flakes.
- 7
Rest and serve
Remove the bay leaf and take the pan off the heat. Rest the dish for 10 minutes so the sauce settles around the cod, then scatter over the remaining pine nuts. Carry it to the table in its casserole with bread for the sauce. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Chef Tips
- •Buy thick, skin-on pieces from the centre of the cod loin. Thin tail pieces finish cooking before the sofregit and break when moved. The skin helps each portion hold together and gives body to the sauce.
- •If salt cod is unavailable, coat 800g thick fresh cod with 20g fine sea salt, cover, and refrigerate for 12 hours. Rinse it briefly, dry it thoroughly, and continue with the recipe. The short cure firms and seasons the fish, but the flavour will be milder than properly cured bacallà.
- •Easter comes before good tomato season in much of Catalonia. Use home-preserved summer tomato or drained canned whole tomatoes unless fresh ones smell ripe and sweet. A hard pink tomato has no business in this sofregit.
- •Use fresh pine nuts and smell them before they reach the pan. Their oil turns stale quickly. Keep any remainder tightly sealed in the freezer, where it will not acquire that bitter, dusty taste.
- •Serve this with pa de pagès or another firm country loaf. A dry Garnatxa Blanca from Terra Alta suits the sweet-savory sauce without adding more sweetness.
Advance Preparation
- •If starting with dry salt cod, buy 600 to 650g to obtain roughly 800g after soaking. Submerge it in at least 2 litres of cold water in the refrigerator for 36 to 48 hours, changing the water every 8 hours. After 36 hours, cook and taste a small shaving from the thickest piece; continue soaking if it remains sharply salty.
- •The sofregit can be cooked through the tomato stage up to 2 days ahead. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate, then return it to the pan with the raisins and their soaking water before finishing the dish.
- •The completed dish can rest overnight in the refrigerator and will taste fuller the next day. Reheat it covered over very low heat just until hot, shaking the casserole once or twice and never allowing the sauce to boil hard. The cod will be slightly firmer than when freshly cooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 415g)
Calories
680 calories
Total Fat
39 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
32 g
Cholesterol
180 mg
Sodium
900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
37 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
17 g
Protein
48 g
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