Empedrat Català

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Small saucepan for eggs
• •Fine sieve or colander

Instructions

1. 1

   Check the cod

   Taste a small shred of the desalted cod before you begin. It should taste seasoned and clean, not aggressively salty. If it still bites hard with salt, soak it in cold water for another two to four hours, changing the water once. Drain well, pat dry, and pull it apart with your fingers into rough shreds, esqueixat, torn by hand.

   If starting with dry salt cod, soak it skin-side up in cold water in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water 3 or 4 times. Thick pieces need longer than thin ones.
2. 2

   Boil the eggs

   Put the eggs in a small pan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes, then cool under cold water, peel, and cut into quarters. Keep them aside until serving so the yolks stay clean and the salad does not turn cloudy.

3. 3

   Prepare the vegetables

   Dice the tomatoes, red pepper, green pepper, and onion into small, even pieces. If the onion is sharp, soak it in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain well. That little rinse costs the dish nothing and keeps the onion from shouting over the cod.

4. 4

   Dress the beans

   Put the drained beans in a wide bowl with the shredded cod, tomatoes, peppers, onion, olives, olive oil, vinegar, parsley, and a little black pepper. Fold gently with a spoon or your hands. Do not mash the beans. Taste before salting, because the cod and olives may have done the work already.

5. 5

   Rest the salad

   Cover and let the empedrat rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, then bring it back toward cool room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. This rest is the step that makes the dish: the beans take in the dressing and the salt cod softens into the oil. Serve with the egg quarters laid over the top and a last thread of olive oil.

Chef Tips

• •Use mongetes del ganxet if you can find them. They are Catalonia's fine white bean, thin-skinned and creamy. Cannellini beans are the honest substitute; they are a little less delicate, but they hold the salad well.
• •Buy desalted bacallà from a fishmonger when you can. If you desalinate it yourself, taste before mixing. Too salty and the salad is hard; too washed out and it tastes of nothing. You want the middle.
• •Tomatoes matter here because they give juice to the dressing. Make this when tomatoes smell like tomatoes. In winter, use good cherry tomatoes and cut them small, knowing the salad will be cleaner and less juicy.
• •Do not drown it in vinegar. Empedrat wants oil first, vinegar second, and enough rest for both to settle into the beans.
• •Bonito del norte in olive oil is the practical substitute when salt cod cannot be found, but say its name plainly: it becomes a white bean and bonito salad, not empedrat de bacallà.

Advance Preparation

• •Desalt dry salt cod 24 to 36 hours ahead in the refrigerator, changing the water several times, then drain and pat dry before shredding.
• •The salad is best made 1 to 4 hours ahead. Add the egg just before serving so it stays neat.
• •Leftovers keep 2 days covered in the refrigerator. Let them sit out 10 to 15 minutes before eating, and refresh with a small thread of olive oil if the beans look dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 335g)