Baccalà (salted codfish)with chickpeas is a dish of traditional Italian cuisine. It is a recipe of peasant and mountain cuisine in many Italian regions because the cod ,as a baccalà or a stoccafisso,was one of the few fish available everywhere and, thanks to its versatility in the kitchen, after the soaking in water it can be cooked in wet , with chickpeas or beans, or fried.
Today the baccalà with chickpeas is still considered suitable for any time of the year and for any occasion. This dish requires very long preparation times due to the soaking of chickpeas and cod but it is possible to organize these two moments in advance.
The soaking of the baccalà (salted cod)has a duration of at least two days, in cold water, taking care to change it twice a day every 12 hours.
The soaking of the stoccafisso(dried cod) has a duration of at least two days, in cold water, taking care to change it every 2 hours.
In both cases the external temperature and water have fundamental importance: the external one must be around 5 °C (41°F)degrees, while the water used for soaking must be abundant and cold, so the fish keeps its consistency.
600 gr. Baccalà,stoccafisso, cod, cod fillet
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
250 gr. Chickpeas, already cooked
4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
450 gr. Tomato purée/passata
Salt and pepper
Chop the onion.
Peel the garlic, add it to the pan and cook it with 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil.
As soon as the oil begins to sizzle, add the onion and cook everything.
Add the tomato sauce and continue cooking.
After 10 minutes, add the chickpeas already cooked and stir. Salt it lightly.
Cut the fish into small pieces and lightly coat it with flour.
Heat two tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil in a pan and cook the fish in it.
Take the cod and transfer it to the pan with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
Leave the cod in the sauce to flavor for about 10 minutes.
Serve the cod with chickpeas hot with a sprinkling of fresh pepper.
This dish is excellent served with toasted bread or polenta and can also be enriched with diced potatoes ,or peperoncino and olives.
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