L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2019 LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES Continued form page 18 you go. Add the canned tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you add them to the pan. (Or pass them through a food mill if y o u d o n ' t l i k e g e t t i n g y o u r hands messy). Let the tomatoes simmer for 10-15 minutes, until they have reduced down to a saucy consi- stency. At this point, add the bac- calà pieces, along with the rai- sins and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the pieces in the sauce so they are covered all over. Add a bit of water to reduce the sauce's thickness if needed. Cover, leaving the lid sligh- tly ajar, and let it simmer gen- tly for a good 20-30 minutes, or until the baccalà has cooked t h r o u g h a n d t h e s a u c e h a s thickened nicely. Check from time to time and , if things are d r y i n g o u t , a d d a t a d m o r e water. B e f o r e s e r v i n g , t a s t e a n d adjust for seasoning. Serve still hot topped, if you like, with some minced parsley for color. Notes on baccalà in guaz- zetto Soaking times for dried salt cod vary wildly. It is sometimes sold still quite fresh and needs really only a few hours soaking ( t h i s k i n d t e n d s t o b e q u i t e expensive, but it's very good). Mostly, however, the cod is n e a r l y b o n e - d r y . T h i s k i n d needs a much longer soak, up to 24 and even 48 hours to soften up. Inspect how dried out the fish looks and use your judg- ment. Or even better, if you live near an old-school Italian nei- ghborhood, you may be able to f i n d f i s h s t o r e s s e l l i n g p r e - soaked baccalà, which makes this a really quick dish to make. M o s t d r i e d s a l t c o d t h e s e days is sold as skinless, bone- l e s s f i l e t s , b u t i f n o t y o u ' l l obviously need to skin the fish and pick out any stray bones after it's been soaked. In fact, do check for bones anyway. It's not unusual to find a stray bone o r t w o , e v e n i n s u p p o s e d l y boneless fish. In some recipes, you flour and fry the baccalà separately before adding it to the sauce. T h a t s o u n d s n i c e — a n d t h e frying no doubt adds an extra layer of flavor—but with its zesty sauce this dish isn't short o n f l a v o r a n y w a y . A n d t h i s simpler version is the one I've found in the more traditional sources, including Ada Boni's i c o n i c T a l i s m a n o a n d L i v i o J a v a n o t t i ' s e n t e r t a i n i n g L a cucina romana e del Lazio. A n y l e f t o v e r b a c c a l à i n guazzetto makes a nice condi- mento (sauce) for pasta. Just reheat the dish gently, breaking up the fish into bite-sized pie- ces. Add slightly undercooked pasta, along with a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, and let it simmer for just a minute in the sauce to absorb the flavors. Serve right away. No cheese, mi raccommando! Olives and capers are a delicious addition to this dish (Copyright: Dreamstime)

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