Aah, the feast of the seven fishes. Or 13 fishes, more or less. It just depends on how crazy you want to get with the Christmas Eve menu. But suffice it to say the Italian Christmas Eve feast is a delight for seafood lovers. If you haven't had baccala before it is a salt cured cod fish. In the United States there is generally just an opportunity to purchase baccala without defining a "grade." But I have seen different grades, you may find that talking to an importer of Italian or Greek foods can guide you to the type they sell and what would be best for this style preparation. It does come with quite a few bones, just leave them in and remove as you eat the fish.
This dish marries the sweetness of raisins with the tang from the vinegar you will add (and from the marinated peppers). The bread and potatoes that are on the bottom of the pan become golden and crispy at the edges but are still moist from olive oil and vinegar. The fish is sandwiched within the layers to keep it moist.
Note: salt cured baccala needs to be soaked for several days in water. Place the fish in a rectangular container large enough to hold the piece(s) of fish. Cover with a couple inches of water and place the lid on container. Place in the refrigerator. Change the water daily.
This dish on it's own is satisfying. It is an exercise in portion control on Christmas Eve or you will never make it to the baccala with all the courses that lead up to it! Luckily it helps being the one to prepare the meal--you know what is yet to come!
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| The bread -- and potatoes-- at the bottom of the pan will become golden, crispy at the edges and soft inside. |
I remember the first time I had an Italian Christmas Eve dinner. I didn't like seafood at the time-- and we had an anchovy pasta as part of the meal. It was not an event I was looking forward to again. Fast forward several years and suddenly my taste buds had changed and I liked fish. As I experimented with varieties and adapted ideas to my liking I also started contemplating the Christmas Eve meal.
I've made very extensive Christmas Eve dinners and lighter ones, but all have an antipasto plate, pasta, baccala, eel (or swordfish) and salad.
A typical menu might be:
Antipasto plate:
marinated seafood salad of calamari and octopus in a citrus marinade
Zuppa di Pesce:
A thin tomato based soup with seafood (mussels, clams, shrimp)
Pasta:
Pasta di Mare: Red sauce pasta with baccala and octopus (or variety of additional seafood)
Baccala:
Roasted with potatoes, pine nuts, raisins, peppers, garlic, swiss chard and bread
Eel:
Grilled with lemon, oil, garlic and parsley. Served with salad
What I am posting here is the Baccala course. I'm sure there are as many ways or preparing this as there are regions and sub regions in Italy. This one is based on what may be served in the Molise region.
1 lb baccala, soaked for several days and then pat dry. Cut in 3" pieces
2 -3 pieces of hearth style bread, torn in 1" chunks
2 red bell peppers, sliced in 1" pieces (marinate in vinegar for 2 days before)**
2 medium potatoes or sweet potatoes, cut in wedges (approx 6 per potato)
7 cloves of garlic, chopped in large pieces
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup golden raisins
1 bunch swiss chard, washed and stems removed, cut in large pieces (stack the chard and chop in 3 pieces)
olive oil
salt
granulated garlic
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar, or to taste, baccala loves vinegar in this dish -- you will too!
Preheat oven to 400
Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 roasting pan with olive oil. Now you will start to layer in the ingredients.
Place 1/2 of the torn bread and about 1/3 of the potatoes in the pan, turn in the oil to coat and season with salt and granulated garlic. Next add 1/3 of the peppers and garlic. Salt lightly. Add a layer of swiss chard over that and place 1/2 the baccala on the bed of swiss chard. Drizzle olive oil over the fish and chard and season with salt and granulated garlic. Place garlic pieces over baccala. Sprinkle half of the pine nuts and half of the raisins over that layer.
Now do another layer, add the torn bread that remains, 1/3 potatoes, drizzle with oil and season with salt and granulated garlic. Add another 1/3 of peppers and cover with a layer of swiss chard. Place the rest of the baccala on swiss chard and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt (lightly) and add fresh garlic. Sprinkle on remaining pine nuts and raisins. Place remaining peppers and potatoes on top of that and remaining swiss chard, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, granulated garlic and fresh garlic pieces. Pour vinegar over the top.
Place a lid on pan or cover tightly with foil. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven until potatoes have softened and starting to become golden on the bottom layer. Place pan on top shelf of oven and remove lid. Allow some of the liquid to cook away but not so much as to dry it out. Add more vinegar if necessary.
**I will can bell peppers in vinegar and use them after several months in the jar. But you can also heat the pepper slices in the vinegar, let them cool and then place in the refrigerator for a couple days until you make this. I've also made it impromptu and didn't marinate the peppers--that will work too.
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