Today it’s time for “baccalà in umido alla romana”, also known as “in” or “al” guazzetto (the little sauce) cod; with a tomato, raisin, and pine nut sofrito. This is a recipe originating from Judeo-Roman cuisine, but over time, it became the official dish for Christmas Eve for many years. Nowadays, however, this tradition has been somewhat lost and it is eaten throughout the year. There is no single way to prepare the guazzetto, and other cities in Italy have very similar dishes within their own recipe books. In fact, you will have already noticed that around here we cook variations on the same theme that are very similar, if not identical. And whoever says here, says anywhere in the Mediterranean.
In Roman restaurants and rosticcerie, it is very common for them to offer you fish on Fridays, and especially cod. Being the capital of a country where the Catholic religion influences the lives of its inhabitants in a more than active way, whether they are believers or not, it happens that, for example, the tradition of not eating meat on Fridays is much more alive than it is around here. One of my weaknesses was buying fried alla romana (like the calamari) at a neighborhood rosticceria called Poulet Rôti. If you go to Rome and feel like buying prepared food, I recommend you stop by there. Apart from the fried alla romana cod fillets, they have some wood-roasted chickens, some fried ham calzones, and some remarkable polpette. Although it is not in the center of Rome, from Termini, with the new metro line, you can get there in less than a quarter of an hour. Oh… What a bout of nostalgia… I’ll leave you. I’m going to watch a video…
Oh, by the way: Buy the cod already desalted. If that’s not possible or you don’t want to, do it just as the super Carme Ruscalleda says in Cocinar para Ser Feliz: Once cut, with the skin side up, just covered with water and in the fridge for 5 days. Change the water on the 6th day, calculating 4 liters of water per half kg of dried cod. Leave it for another 12 hours in this water. If you like it with a touch of salt, it will be ready. If you want it even less salty, leave it in the water for a couple more hours.
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The card
- 500 g of desalted cod cut into four pieces.
- 200 g of grated tomato pulp
- 1 medium onion
- 40 g of sultana raisins
- 40 grams of peeled pine nuts
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- Fresh parsley
- Soak the raisins in warm water.
- Dice the onion.
- If you don't have or don't want to use canned Italian tomato pulp, peel tomatoes, remove the seeds and the gelatinous part surrounding them, and grate 200 g of the resulting pulp.
- Sauté the onion and when it is well browned, add the grated tomato pulp.
- When the tomato is fried, add the pieces of cod seasoned with salt and pepper, or just a little pepper, depending on the salt level you left it at previously.
- Incorporate the raisins and pine nuts.
- Let it cook over low heat for half an hour.
- Important: Do not stir the cod with a spoon. It could fall apart. It is better to do it by gently moving the pot by the handles.
- Serve with a little chopped parsley on top.
