Baked Salted Cod and my First Trip to a Trattoria

So, during the Xmas break, we decided to go out for a meal in a traditional Trattoria.
The place was packed. There were two sets of tables with 30 people each at the least.

In a traditional Trattoria there are no menus. Someone comes to your table and tells you what the daily menu is.


The waiter spoke quickly in a local dialect so I had to resort to my friends for translation.
I'd had enough of Tortellini so I settled for Gramigna con Salsiccia (a kind of Pasta with Sausage Sauce) while some had Tortellini or Gnochi.

Mine turned out beautiful and it was quite filling too.

Still, in the spirit of the occasion, I needed to have a secondo.
I looked over at the huge table that sat a family of 30 plus.
By now, they were on their third Primo. They'd had tortellini, followed by fettucine with Ragu and  Spinach Tortelloni.
So I looked back at my friends, bit my British bottom lip and exclaimed that I was ready for secondo.
A short, stubby, grumpy fellow, without a doubt the owner of the trattoria, came over and offered us the options.
There was Rabbit with Spinach, Turkey or breaded Chicken with Roast Potatoes, and, if you were Italian enough, Zampone with Beans.
Guess what I had!

It was delicious, so very delicious and so very filling.
I couldnt eat another thing for 24 hours. How do Italian people do it, I will never know!
So by the time it was all done and digested, so to speak,  I craved Fish again!

On New Year's day I just had to find an excuse to have Fish.
We held a small dinner party and I was able to cook Salted Cod and delight in the flavours.

BAKED SALT COD

INGREDIENTS

1kg of sliced potatoes

2 large red and yellow peppers
1 courgette

1 large sliced onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp of smoked paprika
1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

Olive oil

Some pitted black olives

4 medium sized salt cod portions pre soaked for at least 24 hrs

Parsley

METHOD

The first step is always to pre soak the salted cod for at least overnight

Cut your potatoes into round slices and boil for 5 minutes

Fry them on a gentle heat for 5 minutes and set aside

Fry the vegetables on a a large pan.

At the same time, boil your cod in milk for 5 to 8 minutes, do not allow it to fall apart.

Layer your baking tray with the sliced potatoes.

Place the cod on top.

Fry all your vegetables in a frying pan with the garlic, paprika and bay leaf.

Layer the cod portions individually with the vegetables and bake at 220 degrees for 15 minutes.

Serve with all the Veg, juices and some parsley.

Couldn't be more simple!