James's Salt Cod
1 lb Potatoes, small new scrubbed, boiled, peeled cut into 3/4"
chunks
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 x White Onions, peeled, chop fine, makes 2 cups
3 x Garlic Cloves, minced
4 med Tomatoes, coarsely chopped about 2 lbs, or two 14.4oz cans of tomatoes,
diced
1/4 lb Ham, chopped
1/4 cup Parsley, Italian, chopped
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Cinnamon, ground
pn Ground Cloves, pinch
1 lb Salt Cod, see note
4 x Pickled chiles Jalapeno sliced into thin rings
4 tbl Liquid from pickled chiles
12 x Pimento-stuffed Green Olives sliced in half
Method :
Note; Salt Cod, soak for 24 hours and Gently rinse, to remove most but not all
of the salt. Do not break up fish.
Put the potatoes in a large pan of cold,
salted water, cutting any large potatoes in half or quarters first. Bring the
water to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with
a fork, 15-20 minutes. Drain and when cool enough to handle,, peel away the
skin. Set aside. In a heavy pan such as a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over
medium heat. Add the onions, reduce the heat to very low and slowly saute about
one hour. Stir occasionally, watching that the onion doesn't burn. A few
dribbles more of oil may be necessary. Pre-heat oven to 300F degrees. Turn up
the heat, add the garlic and tomato and cook, stirring constantly until the
mixture becomes thick and the liquid is substantially reduced, about 10-15
minutes. Add the ham, parsley, pepper, cinnamon and cloves, then gently stir the
cod, potatoes, jalapenos and their juice into the tomato mixture. Transfer to a
1 to 2 quart casserole, preferably clay, sprinkle with the olives and bake for
30 minutes. Bacalao a la Viscaina can be made ahead and re-heated in a 300F oven
for 20 minutes or until thoroughly hot.
First
Class Stamp
Oct. 1, 1883
2 cents per 1/2 oz