Bacalao con Samfaina

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Nonreactive container with lid, at least 3 litres, for desalting
• •Shallow heavy casserole with lid, about 30cm
• •Box grater for fresh tomatoes
• •Flexible fish spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Desalt the cod

   Rinse the loose salt from the cod. Lay the portions skin-side up in a nonreactive container, cover with about 2 litres of cold water and refrigerate for 36 hours. Replace the water every 8 to 10 hours. Thick loin pieces need the full time; pieces nearer 2cm thick usually need only 24 hours.

   Before cooking, cut off a tiny flake from the thickest piece, simmer it in water for 30 seconds and taste it. If it is harshly salty rather than pleasantly seasoned, soak the cod for another 4 hours in fresh cold water.
2. 2

   Prepare the vegetables

   Drain the cod and pat every surface completely dry. Leave it uncovered in the refrigerator while you cut the vegetables. Grate the cut faces of the fresh tomatoes against the large holes of a box grater until only the skins remain, then discard the skins. Pésalo, no lo adivines: keep the vegetable pieces close to the stated size so they soften at the same pace.

3. 3

   Brown the cod lightly

   Heat 60ml of the olive oil in a 30cm shallow casserole over medium heat. Dust the dry cod lightly with the flour and shake off every loose bit. Lay it in skin-side down and cook for 2 minutes, then turn carefully and cook the flesh side for 1 minute. Lift it to a plate. It should be barely colored and still raw inside; the samfaina finishes it later.

4. 4

   Soften onion and peppers

   Lower the heat and add the remaining 30ml olive oil to the same casserole. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and pale gold. Add the garlic and both peppers, then cook for another 10 minutes. Scrape up the sweet browned traces left by the cod, but if any flour has burned black, remove those bitter specks before carrying on.

5. 5

   Collapse the vegetables

   Add the aubergine and cook for 10 minutes, turning it through the oil until it begins to soften. Add the courgette and cook for 8 minutes more. The pan will look crowded at first. Keep the heat medium-low and let the vegetables surrender their water rather than browning them hard.

6. 6

   Reduce the samfaina

   Stir in the grated fresh tomatoes, or the crushed canned tomatoes, and add the black pepper. Cook uncovered over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring more frequently near the end. The samfaina is ready when the vegetables are tender, a spoon drawn across the bottom leaves a clear track for 2 seconds, and green-gold oil glints around the edge. Taste before adding any salt because the cod will return some of its seasoning to the sauce.

   Don't add water unless the pan is catching before the vegetables are tender. If that happens, add 30ml, scrape the bottom and lower the heat. Samfaina should finish spoonable and glossy, never soupy.
7. 7

   Finish the cod

   Nestle the cod into the samfaina skin-side down and spoon a little sauce around the sides, leaving the top visible. Cover and cook over low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on thickness. The cod is ready when the center is opaque and separates into broad moist flakes, or reaches 63°C in the thickest part. Stop there. Salt cod goes from succulent to woolly while a cook is finding the plates.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Take the casserole off the heat and leave it covered for 5 minutes. Spoon the samfaina onto four plates, set a cod portion over each serving and finish with the glossy oil from the casserole. Serve with plain country bread for the sauce. No extra decoration is needed; the peppers, tomato and pale flakes of cod have already done the work.

Chef Tips

• •Look for bacalao made from Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, in thick center-cut pieces with the skin attached. Thin tail pieces desalt and cook too quickly for this method. Frozen cod sold already desalted is a good household choice; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and begin at the drying step.
• •Salted pollock can stand in for salt cod when that is what your market carries. Desalt it by the same tasting method, then shorten the final covered cooking by about 2 minutes because its leaner flakes dry sooner. The finished dish will taste stronger and less buttery.
• •Use fresh tomatoes only when they smell ripe at the stem and give slightly under a finger. Out of season, 400g of good canned peeled tomatoes makes a better samfaina than 600g of pale, hard fresh ones. Sourcing wins this argument every time.
• •Don't salt the aubergine beforehand. Here its moisture joins the other vegetables and cooks away slowly; salting and squeezing it only adds work and risks putting too much salt beside cured fish.
• •A dry Catalan white made from Garnatxa Blanca or Xarel·lo suits the sweet vegetables and cured depth of the cod. Keep it fresh rather than heavily oaked.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them covered for up to 2 days. Reheat very gently in a covered casserole with 15ml water so the cod does not dry out. The samfaina freezes well on its own, but the cooked fish loses its broad, moist flake.

Advance Preparation

• •Begin desalting thick cod portions 36 hours before cooking, changing the cold water every 8 to 10 hours. Already-desalted frozen salt cod only needs to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
• •The samfaina can be cooked through the tomato-reduction step up to 2 days ahead. Cool it promptly, refrigerate it covered and return it to a gentle bubble before adding the freshly browned cod.
• •All vegetables can be cut up to 8 hours ahead and refrigerated separately. Keep the grated tomato in its own covered container so it does not flood the aubergine and courgette.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 500g)