Fried salt cod, known in Ligurian dialect as friscéu or bacalae friti, is a traditional dish whose name alone evokes Genoa.
An ancient form of street food which as a young girl I went to buy in the old ”Sciamadde”, traditional city shops with a wood-burning oven where you could buy many regional specialities such as savoury pies, stuffed vegetables, farinata, panissette and much else. Fortunately there are still some in existence in the old town and entering them is a unique and exciting experience.
The name sciamadde probably derives from the word fiammata (flame), i.e. from the flame of the kindling used to feed the oven fire.
Baccalà is the product of salting and aging two types of Atlantic cod: Gadus microcephalus and Gadus morhua. It is very similar to stockfish which, however, is preserved by drying. Baccalà can be found on sale already soaked and desalted.
It is a truly versatile fish in the kitchen which can be used for numerous dishes. In Portugal they say there is a recipe for every day of the year. I believe it is true.
For now I propose these delicious fritters!
Ingredients
Tools
Steps
Rinse the desalted baccalà under running water and dry by patting it with absorbent kitchen paper, then remove the skin and cut into squares 2/3 cm in diameter.
Hint: taste a small piece to understand how much salt you need to add to the batter!
Prepare the batter, putting together the flour, yeast and a pinch of salt.
Mix them all together, adding warm water and mixing energetically with a hand whisk.
Variant: I use yeast because I like my fritters a little bit swollen, but if you do not want to use it, you can add cold sparkling water from the fridge.
It is not possible to indicate the precise quantity of water, as you need to judge it as you go.
At the end, the batter must be fluid, without lumps but not liquid.
Then add the pieces of baccalà and stir to cover them well with batter.
Heat plenty of oil in the frying pan.
When it is hot, immerse the baccalà in spoonfuls and leave to turn golden. Do not fry too many at a time or the oil will cool down too much.
Drain the fritters and let them rest on absorbent kitchen paper for fried foods.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What kind of oil do you recommend for frying?
As I wrote in the recipe for breaded fried anchovies, it is important to use an oil with a high smoke point for frying. The smoke point the temperature at which the hot oil starts to release volatile substances which become visible in the form of smoke, also forming acrolein, a toxin substance. It is particularly important when frying, both at home, in industry and in restaurants.
I generally use extra virgin olive oil or top quality sunflower oil.
Varied doses for servings