Bacalao Encebollado Canario

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy cazuela or lidded sauté pan, 28 to 30cm
• •Deep non-reactive container for desalting
• •Mortar and pestle
• •Flexible fish turner
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Desalt the cod

   Rinse the salt from the cod under cold running water. Put the pieces skin-side up in a deep container, cover with 4 litres of cold water and refrigerate for 36 hours, changing the water every 8 hours. At 32 hours, cook a small flake in simmering water until opaque and taste it. It should remain pleasantly seasoned but not sharply salty; give it the final four hours if needed. Drain for 15 minutes, then pat every surface completely dry.

   Thin tail pieces may be ready after 24 hours, while thick loin pieces can need 36 to 48. Taste a cooked flake rather than guessing. Pésalo, no lo adivines applies to salt as much as anything else.
2. 2

   Toast the almonds

   Set a wide, heavy cazuela over medium-low heat. Add 15ml of the olive oil and the almonds, then cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning them often, until evenly golden and nutty-smelling. Lift them into a mortar, add 60ml of the measured water and pound to a coarse paste. This majado, the pounded almond mixture, will give the sauce body later.

3. 3

   Set the cod

   Spread the flour on a plate. Coat the dried cod lightly and shake off every loose patch; the flour should be a veil, not a crust. Add the remaining 75ml oil to the cazuela and heat over medium heat. Lay in the cod skin-side down and cook for 2 minutes, then turn and cook for 1 minute more. Lift it out carefully. It won't be cooked through yet.

4. 4

   Melt the onions

   Lower the heat and add the onions and green pepper to the same oil. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until they release their water and begin to collapse. Uncover and continue over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions are very soft and pale gold. They must melt, not brown, because their clean sweetness is what balances the salt cod.

   If the edges begin catching, add 15ml of the measured water and lower the heat. Brown onion belongs in other pots. Here it makes the sauce taste roasted rather than sweet.
5. 5

   Build the sofrito

   Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the grated fresh tomato, or the drained canned tomato, with the thyme, black pepper and bay leaves. Cook uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tomato loses its raw smell and the oil begins to show around the edges. Take the cazuela off the heat, stir in the pimentón for 20 seconds, then return it to low heat so the spice doesn't scorch.

6. 6

   Finish the sauce

   Pour in the white wine and scrape the bottom gently. Let it bubble for 3 minutes, until the sharp smell of alcohol has gone. Stir in the almond majado and the remaining 60ml water. Simmer for 4 minutes; the sauce should be loose enough to spoon but thick enough to hold the onions together.

7. 7

   Braise beneath onions

   Taste the sauce before adding any salt. Nest the cod skin-side down in the cazuela and spoon the onions over every piece. Cover and cook at the quietest simmer for 7 to 10 minutes, shaking the cazuela once or twice instead of stirring. The cod is ready when it separates into moist pearly flakes and reaches 63°C in the thickest part.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Take the cazuela off the heat and leave it covered for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves, taste the onions and add no more than 2g salt if they truly need it. Carry the cazuela to the table and serve each piece with a deep spoonful of onions and almond-thickened sauce. Boiled potatoes, papas arrugadas or plain bread will catch what remains.

Chef Tips

• •Buy salt cod in thick, even pieces with the skin still attached. The skin protects the fish during soaking and braising, then supplies enough gelatin to make the sauce feel silky. Avoid packets of small, ragged trimmings; they'll desalinate unevenly and break into the onions.
• •Frozen, already-desalted salt cod is the useful shortcut. Use 850g, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and dry it thoroughly. The seasoning is usually milder than home-soaked bacalao, so taste the finished sauce and use the optional 2g salt only if needed.
• •A long, thin-skinned green frying pepper is closest to the pimiento verde used in a Canarian kitchen. A green bell pepper works when that's what the market has, but slice it very thin and cook it five minutes longer because its flesh is thicker and holds more water.
• •Fresh tomato is cooked here, not eaten raw. When the market offers only hard winter tomatoes, use 250g drained canned whole tomatoes. They give a riper, deeper sauce and cost the dish nothing.
• •Serve it with papas arrugadas, the Canarian salt-crusted potatoes, if the cod has been properly desalted. If the fish remains assertively salty, choose plain boiled potatoes instead. Two salty things don't correct one another.
• •A dry Listán Blanco from the Canary Islands belongs naturally beside this. Any dry, unoaked white with firm acidity will do if you're far from the islands.

Advance Preparation

• •Begin desalting the cod 36 hours before cooking and keep it refrigerated throughout. Change the water every 8 hours; don't leave salt fish soaking on the counter.
• •The onion, pepper and tomato sauce can be cooked through the pimentón step one day ahead. Cool it within 2 hours, cover and refrigerate, then return it to the cazuela with the wine and almond majado before adding the cod.
• •Toast and pound the almonds up to three days ahead. Keep the dry paste covered in the refrigerator and loosen it with the measured water when finishing the sauce.
• •Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for up to two days. Reheat them gently in the covered cazuela with 15ml water, stopping as soon as the cod is hot so it doesn't tighten and dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 500g)