Baccalà dolce forte and florentine style: here are 2 different recipes for the delicious “Baccalà”; Italian for Cod.
You can find these traditional Italian recipes in the famous book from Artusi: Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well
They’re very fast and easy. It’s the quality of the ingredients that makes the difference.
BACCALA’ ALLA FIORENTINA (It’s the recipe N°506)
Translating from a real Tuscan language of the 19th century, the following is the exact procedure.
We often make this recipe during our cooking classes and dinners in Tuscany. It’s often a huge success!
BACCALA’ ALLA FIORENTINA PROCEDURE
….Cut the cod into pieces as big as the palm of a hand and floor it well.
Then put a pot or a pan on the fire with a lot of oil and two or three cloves of garlic, not skinless, but a bit crushed.
As they begin browning, put down the cod and brown it on both sides, removing it often so it does not stick. It’d not need salt, or just a little bit, after tasting it, of course.
However, a pinch of pepper does not make it bad.
At last, pour over the cod a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce (the concentrate one), or tomato paste diluted in water, and boil it a little longer, and serve.
BACCALA’ IN DOLCE-FORTE (It’s the recipe N° 508)
BACCALA’ IN DOLCE FORTE
Cook the cod following the n. 506 recipe (see it above), except for garlic, and when it is browned on both sides, pour on the “Dolce-Forte” sauce (see above), boil a little longer, and serve it hot.
Prepare in advance the “Dolce-Forte” (sweet-sour) sauce or “Agrodolce” (bitter-sweet) sauce if you like calling it in this way, inside a glass.
Dolce-forte sauce RECIPE:
If the cod is approximately 1 pound (500 grams), it will take 1/3 of a glass of strong vinegar, 1/2 glass of water, enough sugar (3 tbsp), pine nuts (2tbsp), and raisins (2 tbsp) in proportion.
Before pouring it over the cod, is not bad rather to boil the sauce separately.
If you made a good job, it will be very appreciated.
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