Instead of whales.
The idea, it is said, came to gods fishermen, maybe Basque (but there is little clarity about their nationality) in navigation in the northern seas whaling: stumbled upon large schools of cod, they decided not to miss the opportunity and to try to keep them as they already did with the meat of large cetaceans. Successful experiment. And if whales are no longer part of our diet today, the cod, in reverse, long-lasting food and available all year round, it has reached i ports and kitchens around the world (today it comes mainly from Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Iceland and Canada) becoming protagonist of the table of tradition.
If we look at the most typical recipes, not only Italian, we discover a paradox: the fish is from the North, but always yes accompanies Mediterranean ingredients, those of the shores where he arrives after the long voyage by ship from the cold seas, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, olives, capers, garlic. The cooking? Steamed (in which to sink large pieces of bread) or in frying (often with potatoes). A greedy and nutritious way of tasting it, which however has been changing in recent years.
Uses and recipes
A excellent food that the people like chef Rich in noble proteins, vitamins And mineral salts, low in fat, white and soft if well desalted, cod turns out to be an extremely interesting food for many chefs, who interpret it with creativity. Moreno Cedroni, for example, it offers it with sauce and diced hare; the Neapolitan Marianna Vitale puts it in a savory cheesecake; Gennaro Esposito presents it with chickpea cream; Luca De Santi, an eclectic pastry chef, even turns it into ice cream. That's what they say "discounting" of an ingredient, the approach to the trend of the moment, to the evolution of taste and palates. And so the cod has changed its appearance even in everyday cooking. It is similar to ethnic rice and pasta, it is combined with legumes and vegetables such as cabbage, colored carrots, turnips, asparagus and sweet potatoes. It is enjoyed in salad with seasonal fruit: it is excellent boiled and mixed with oranges and onions, all seasoned with orange juice reduced on the fire, oil and pepper. And again, it is used as original stuffed with artichokes and onions, is prepared in crispy meatballs and breaded with unusual spicy blends. Do you want to try? These pages will inspire you.
January 2022
Christian Cassé
Noodles and cod