Salt Cod With Tomatoes and Capers (Baccalà alla Vesuviana)
4.1
(18)
In Italy, this recipe is a classic holiday dish. For Christmas Eve, it would generally be served at room temperature, as part of a buffet.
Ingredients
Serves 6 as an appetizer or 4 as a main-course
Preparation
Step 1
In large bowl, combine cod with water to cover by 2 inches. Cover and refrigerate, changing water 3 times a day, 1 to 3 days (see cooks' note, below). Refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 2
In small bowl, combine capers with water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and refrigerate 1 day, changing water 3 times.
Step 3
Drain and rinse capers, then squeeze dry. Drain cod and pat dry, then cut into 4- by 2-inch pieces.
Step 4
In heavy 6- to 8-quart pot over moderate heat, heat 3 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add onion and sauté until softened and golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, capers, tomatoes and juice, and salt. Using wooden spoon, gently crush tomatoes. Bring to simmer, then carefully add cod. Add parsley and 1/4 cup mint and gently spoon some of sauce over cod. Simmer, uncovered, until cod is tender and heated through, about 5 minutes.
Step 5
Using slotted spatula, transfer cod to serving platter. Remove pot from heat and stir in 3 tablespoons olive oil. Spoon sauce over fish, then sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon mint and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Brands of cod differ in their degree of saltiness: A less salty one may need only 1 day of soaking, while another could require up to 3. To test it, simply taste a small piece after 1 day; you want it to be pleasantly salty but not overwhelming.
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Reviews (18)
Back to TopI love this recipe, as my grandma used to make it. It’s the same, but I just eliminated the mint.
jkfree
Carlsbad, CA
12/23/2019
This was very spicy and tasted like fish with hot sauce. Maybe half the red pepper flakes are necessary. I was really disappointed after three days preparing the cod. I also found I had to simmer with the fish for 10 minutes and not five. I would try again with less heat, but not as written.
JCherrniak
Richmond Hill, ON
2/11/2018
I made this with fresh cod on Christmas Eve, part of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. It was an instant hit...I followed the rest of the recipe except I omitted the mint. Tonight I made it again with fresh cod, again omitted the mint but along with the rest of the ingredients I added baby Bella mushrooms and quartered artichoke hearts. My 11 year-old walked into the kitchen and said it smelled amazing! As someone else mentioned this is a great base recipe that can easily be altered! Delicious and easy to make. Highly recommend it.
brynn
Houston, TX
1/15/2016
Very few of the classics belong to any chef...they belong to the peasants that created them. I thank Mario for bringing this recipe to us, from wherever he found it - doesn't matter. And thanks to Epicurios for putting it out here. This is a fine, fine recipe. I am first generation Italian. I grew up with the ¿real deal¿ and this is it. It¿s a base recipe - meaning you build on it if you want (I added potatoes to mine, which I like cooked firm). A little EVOO, white onion, red pepper flakes, capers, canned tomatoes (my mother still cans her own hand-picked tomatoes and sends them to me), salt, rehydrated salt cod, chopped parsley, and chopped mint. You know, life just doesn't get any better than this! This is an easy 4 forks; it's easy to make, takes no time, hardly any prep, and full of rich flavors. I only open a jar of my mother's tomatoes on special occasions or for special recipes. This recipe was worthy of a jar of moms tomatoes. If you want, do away with the capers and replace them with Kalamata olives. Sweeten it up with raisons if you like. Use fresh Serrano peppers instead of flakes. Add potatoes like I did if you want that, or broccoli if you want a veggie in there. The fish really does only take five minutes, so watch the order of things; potatoes take about 10-15 minutes, broccoli only a few minutes, and so on. Recipes like this just make me happy. What a great dish. This dish brings back such wonderful memories. V...
vja2000
Raised in NY
12/31/2013
Made this several times with fresh haddock and it's fantastic. Skipped the mint a few times but it was still delicious.
judyp22
Maine
11/7/2013
I'd like to add that this is not just an Italian specialty! My father's family is from Trinidad, and my grandmother always made this dish. We ate it for breakfast with fresh pan fried bread.
PScarborough
2/20/2013
I did NOT enjoy the texture of the salt cod. I think if it was fresh cod, it might have been a better dish.
longmeadowcook
12/24/2012
I've been making this for years. I got the recipe from my grandmother who made it every Christmas eve. She was eighty when she died in 1975. Shame on her for ripping off Mario Batali. My point is that Mario Baltali (while a great chef) basically markets what's been tried and proven. He pretty much depends on the naivete of people like those who have posted here to establish his reputation as a culinary visionary.
emea2yr
New Hope, PA
12/14/2012
Does someone actually think Mario Batali came up with this? Please - this is a meditteranian staple especially in Naples and it's been around forever.
foodfanatic15
4/2/2012
Made this a few nights ago: I cut the baccalà a little smaller than in the recipe, and used cayenne pepper instead of flakes, but it was very tasty. Was a *little* too salty but had sauteed some potatoes which absorbed the saltiness. Excellent recipe.
JDWalker
London, England
2/12/2012
I used well 'desalted' cod, and this was a hit with some non-adventurous eaters. I would note that if you use new hot pepper flakes, the sauce will be HOT.
QIOMD
Princeton, NJ
12/27/2009
An easy, quick dinner. I made it with frozen cod, first baking the cod in the oven then adding the rest of the ingredients after sauteing. The family ate it all - no leftovers!
Anonymous
Michigan
11/23/2009
The pepper and capers work nicely to flavor the sauce in this recipe. We paired with an Albarino white which did not compete with the taste and worked well.
EricKlunder
Seattle, WA
10/8/2009
This was delicious. From childhood memories, I tend to avoid cod recipe. But my husband bought a bag of frozen fillet. It was not salt cod but it still worked out fine.
LeCordonGreen
GA
9/22/2009
This was fantastic; reminds me of christmas back home. I think the reason it is a knock off of a Mario Batali recipe is because it is a Mario Batali recipe.
marcofalco
7/7/2009
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