Salt cod with samfaina
( Baccalà con samfaina )

The samfaina is a typical recipe from Catatonia (Spain); it's made with assorted vegetables, garlic and olive oil. You can combine it with meat or fish, especially fresh tuna or salt cod.
We teach you how to prepare the version with salt cod.

Soak the salt cod in cold water for at least 24 hours (the best thing would be 48 hours), changing the water frequently.
When the salt cod is ready, prepare the vegetables for the samfaina. Clean and wash the courgette, aubergine, onions and peppers. Cut them into 1 cm (1/2in) pieces and put apart (separate every kind of vegetable). Peel the garlic cloves and slice them. Wash the tomatoes, halve them crossways, remove their seeds and grate; put apart their grated flesh.
Put 12 tablespoons olive oil in a deep non-stick pan and let the onions and garlic fry lightly over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon very often. Then add the peppers and fry lightly for 10 minutes, stirring now and then. At this point add also the courgette and aubergine and keep on frying for other 10 minutes, stirring now and then. At the end add the tomatoes, stir and keep on cooking for other 10 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika, pour in the wine, season to taste with salt (remember that the fish is salt) and pepper and keep on cooking until the cooking juice is partially reduced.
Meanwhile cut into big pieces the salt cod without removing its skin, pat dry them with absorbent kitchen paper and dip into the white flour. Let the salt cod pieces fry in the remaining olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Brown the fish pieces on both sides, remove them from the pan and put on absorbent kitchen paper to remove the excess of olive oil.
Transfer the fried fish in the samfaina, arranging the pieces with the skin down. Let all the ingredients cook over low heat without stirring in order to avoid the fish breaks into pieces: move only the vegetable pieces with the wooden spoon with delicacy. You need about 15 minutes to complete the cooking. If the samfaina reduces too much, add some hot water. Serve hot.

Note

• - You can cook all the vegetables together without frying them and adding the white wine at the beginning; sprinkle with paprika and season to taste with salt few minutes before the of cooking. We tasted this recipe in this way and it is appetizing! Besides it's easily digestible.
• - Who doesn't like garlic can substitute it with 2 tablespoons dried chives.

What's the right wine for " Baccalà con samfaina " ?

Our suggestion is: Jerez Fino or Manzanilla (Spanish wine) or a good white wine from Italy such as Vermentino di Gallura.

You can find some ideas for combining this dish with other ones and setting up the table in the Members-only Area: so you'll be able to plan a Spanish dinner party!