The Croatian word Bakalar is the name of the dish and the fish – cod fish (bacalao in Spanish). Given the Dalmatia’s richness of fresh food, it is rather peculiar that the main dish for the Christmas Eve is based on dried cod fish – from Norway! However, bakalar is inevitable part of the Dalmatian cuisine and it’s beyond delectable. Here are two ways to make it – as a cod fish stew or with potatoes.
Recipe 1 – Stewed Bakalar- dried salted cod – 1 lb
- potatoes (peeled and large diced) – 2 lbs
- onions (large diced) – 8 oz.
- garlic – 4 chopped cloves
- fresh, roughly chopped parsley – 4 oz.
- olive oil – 8 oz.
- salt & pepper (to taste)
Preparation
Dried salted cod should be washed and soaked overnight in water. Wash it again, add fresh water and cook w in a large pot on a low flame for about 5 hours (until tender, but not falling apart). After removing the fish from the water, preserve the water for later. Lay the cod on a cutting board and remove the bones, but make sure to keep the meat in larger pieces. Saute garlic, onion and parsley in olive oil in the cooking pot quickly. Potatoes should be added and stirred until coated with spicy oil. Pour potatoes with the preserved cooking water and simmer them until tender. Put the cod meat back to the pot and simmer slowly without stirring for about 20-30 minutes. Season the stew with salt and pepper.
Stewed Bakalar should be served with crusty, freshly baked bread.
Recipe 2 – Bakalar with Potatoes – Cod Fish with Potatoes
- dried salted codfish – 1 lb
- potatoes – 2 lb
- olive oil – 8 oz.
- garlic – 4 cloves, chopped
- fresh, roughly chopped parsley – approx. 3 oz.
- salt&pepper to season
Preparation
Beat the codfish with mallet and soak it in water overnight. After that, it should be washed and cooked until tender. As in previous recipe, the fish should be taken out of the water (and water preserved for later), put on a clean cutting board. Remove the bones carefully. Potatoes should be peeled, washed and thinly sliced. Place potatoes and codfish in a pot – row of potatoes, row of codfish. Every row should be sprinkled with parsley and garlic. Burning olive oil should be burned on everything, together with salt and pepper. When preparation is finished, some of preserved cooking water should be added. Put a pot in an (unheated) oven and bake it until potatoes turn tender.
