March 9, 2019: the first night in Venice after disembarking from the namesake cruise ship. First dinner at the restaurant “La patatina“, ready to taste one of the most typical dishes of the splendid city: creamed salt cod.
May 19, 2024: our last lunch in Chioggia Sottomarina, during our 3-day tour, again creamed salt cod, at Locanda “Alla Frasca” in old Sottomarina (the photo below).
Prepared with stockfish, that is arctic cod of Norwegian origin preserved through cold air drying, the cod is cooked and reduced to a cream and then served with white polenta or polenta crostini.
In the Veneto area, stockfish is commonly called baccalà, hence the name of the recipe.
You can find many other basic salt cod recipes on the blog:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Soaked Stockfish
- 0.8 cups Milk
- 1 clove Garlic
- 0.8 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- to taste Parsley
- to taste Salt and Pepper
Preparation
Immerse the stockfish in a pan with lightly salted water and the milk, so that it completely covers it.
Cook for 30-35 minutes, covering with a lid.
“Cream” the fish pulp by hand with a wooden spoon or with a mixer (avoid using a blender if possible, or at most use a plastic blade!), pouring the extra virgin olive oil in a stream and letting it mount as if it were mayonnaise, until you get a compact and homogeneous cream; if too shiny, add a little cooking water and bring it to the end with still some whole pieces.
The amount of oil depends on the quality of the fish you are working with.Add the minced garlic and adjust with salt and pepper.
The dish is traditionally garnished with chopped parsley and accompanied by strictly white polenta, fresh, or grilled, preferably from Marano corn or “biancoperla” quality coarse polenta.
Notes
Remember to soak the stockfish for at least 24 hours in running water before preparing the recipe, letting a trickle of water flow, or changing the soaking water frequently.
Like any traditional recipe, every family has its version; there is one without milk, with stockfish cooked in water and creamed with oil.
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To discover other Venetian recipes, you can purchase this pleasant and affordable book: Ricette del Veneto: la Cucina Veneta for 9.40 €
What is the difference between creamed salt cod and Vicenza style salt cod?
The peculiarity of creamed salt cod is its creaminess: by working only the cod with oil, water, and in some recipes, milk, a soft compound is obtained.
The Vicenza style salt cod changes color, texture and especially the taste compared to the Venetian style creamed cod, and it is a much more complex and lengthy recipe to make.
Great for soaking with bread (or polenta), it is a second course and includes sardines among its ingredients.
The recipe for Vicenza style salt cod:
cut the stockfish into chunks.
Chop the onion not too thinly and brown it with some oil, parsley, and sardines, letting them “melt” over low heat for about 1 hour.
Flour the fish and cook it for a few minutes with the onion.
Add milk and oil in equal quantities, grated cheese and cook for about 3 hours without stirring, but only by moving the pot, better if in a clay pot, in a rotational sense.
