Pronounced bah-cah-LAH-oh, it’s a cod dish that originated in the Mediterranean part of the world. It is absolutely delicious.
It’s a dish that is usually prepared at Christmas time, as a special treat, as it takes several days to prepare. Making it is quite an undertaking that’s worth every minute.
Bacalao, the cod, comes salted, and in 2 liter containers, needing to be rinsed, and soaked over a 48 hour period, changing the water at least 3 times a day. By the end of all of the that, the water is no longer salty, and it’s ready to shred.
There are a lot of ingredients needed for this stew, and we are making enough to take with us to Los Altos for the New Year. We have, coming today, 2 liters of small white potatoes, 2 liters of Roma tomatoes, and 2 bunches of parsley. We already have the chiles, (chile güero, or Santa Fe chile), onion, garlic, red, and yellow bell peppers, olives, capers, (alcaparras), and the cod. We (I) just have to shred the desalinated cod, remove all of the bones, and we’ll be ready to go. Sounds like a lot of work to me.
It ended up looking like this.
Stay happy, healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.