Cooking cod Tuscany style!
Salt Cod with Zolfini Beans – Filetto di Baccalà in olio-cottura con crema di fagioli golfini all’uccellettoRecipe is for 10 servings
10 cod fillets, 100g each, 1 sprig of sage
1 sprig of rosemary
1 head of garlic
200g (dry) of cooked beans zolfini (otherwise it will not be possible in the allotted time)
3 ripe tomatoes peeled
Salt Cod with Zolfini Beans
This was made with excellent quality Spanish salt cod that had been soaked for two days, changing the water frequently. The serving pieces were, I’m guessing, about 3.5 to 4 ounces, the size of a thick deck of cards.
He started by simmering rosemary, sage, and a clove of garlic in olive oil, bringing the oil up to 70ºC. (that’s about 160º F.). Then lowered the piece of salt cod into the oil, turned off the heat, and let the fish sit in the oil for 10 minutes. NB: The pan was not covered.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan he fried sage and garlic, then removed them from the oil and set them aside (the fried sage leaves became a garnish for the salt cod). He stirred in a little chopped fresh tomato (seeded and peeled) to the oil and started cooking it down, adding some of the liquid in which the zolfini (sulphur) beans had cooked.
Once the cod was done, he removed it and drained it, then tipped off the oil from the pan, leaving only a small amount of oil and the fish gelatin in the bottom of the pan. He combined most of the zolfini beans (leaving some aside for a garnish) with the tomato sauce and the oil + gelatin in the bottom of the pan, warmed it, then reduced the mixture to a puree with a stick blender.
He spooned the puree onto the plate, added the whole beans, garnished with olive oil, set the salt cod on top and finished with the fried sage leaves.
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