Baccala (Salt Cod) Tomato Sauce over Linguine | The Recipe ReDux
Salt cod fish or baccalà is traditionally served on Christmas Eve like as in this briny, bright tomato sauce over linguine. ~ by Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD
3 more days until my favorite meal of the year.
While Thanksgiving is a close second, our family 7 Fish Dinner on Christmas Eve is hog heaven for this seafood and pasta lover.
A long time tradition from my mom's side of the family, this Italian-American meal fell by the wayside during my teen years and then about 10 years ago, my sister and I decided to start up the annual ritual again.
So, when this month's Recipe ReDux theme was announced, it was kismet that this is the recipe I found on page 142 (ok, it was really page 141 because 142 was a full page photo.)
December Theme: Grab a Book & Cook
It’s the end of the year and we’ll taking a moment to reflect: Recipe ReDux has been around for 42 months! To celebrate, we’re playing a little party game this month: Grab your nearest cookbook and ReDux the recipe on page 42 or 142.
I grabbed the vintage (published in 1968 is pretty much vintage these days) cookbook that my aunt had given me during our Seattle visit. And there on page 141 of The New Complete Book of Pasta was a recipe featuring Baked Noodles with Dried Salt Cod.
Now, salt cod is also known as baccalà and it's one of the traditional fishes served on Christmas Eve. It's stiff as a board when you buy it and you must soak it for at least 24 hours in cold water, replenishing the water every few hours or so. It's often pan fried and served with tomatoes, red peppers and/or potatoes or it's served over polenta or pasta.
I took some liberty with the original recipe I found on page 141 and made it into a tomato based dish - typical of what we would serve on December 24th. While rehydrating and "de-salting" the cod takes a few days, the entire dish is pretty simple and makes for a hearty meal any time of year.
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Here are the 7 fish we usually serve on Christmas Eve:
#1 Antipasti Platter with Tuna
#2 Rosemary Shrimp Skewers
#3 Baccalà in Tomato Sauce
#4 Lobster Ravioli
#5 Fried Calamari
#6 Salmon Cakes
#7 Linguine with Clam Sauce
My sister's Greek father-in-law always brings his homemade baklava so we joke each year about the irony of having bach-ah-la and ba-kla-vah at the same meal. #FoodNerds are we.
Baccalà (Salt Cod) Tomato Sauce over Linguine
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Salt cod fish or baccalà is traditionally served on Christmas Eve like as in this briny, bright tomato sauce over linguine.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds salt cod (baccalà)
- ¼ cup white whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups low sodium marinara or tomato sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound whole wheat linguine
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Instructions
- Cut the salt cod into several large chunks. Place in a large bowl with fresh cold water and cover (keep in a cool place.) Change the water several times a day, rinsing the cod each time. Do this for 24 - 48 hours.
- When ready to cook the fish, rinse off cod and pat dry. Cut into 1-inch pieces and dredge through flour.
- In a large skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium high heat. Add cod (you may have to do two batches if skillet isn't big enough) and cook for 5 minutes. Flip pieces over, add garlic and cook another 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and black pepper; stir gently (cod pieces may break apart a bit and that's fine.) Reduce heat to medium low.
- While sauce is simmering, make pasta according to package instructions (but omit salt as the cod will be salty enough.)
- Drain pasta and place in serving bowl. Pour cod sauce over top and sprinkle with Italian parsley. Serve immediately.
If you are a seafood and pasta lover, I hope you try out this recipe (any time you can find baccalà.) It's worth the extra effort.
Have you ever eaten baccalà? If you celebrate Christmas, what traditional dishes do you always serve?
Check out what cookbooks our fellow ReDuxers are cooking from this month below!
Great idea. I have never had pasta sauce on fish. Love your pictures.
Ahh, fish and pasta sauce is match made in heaven (IMHO)
My husband and I both have Italian families, and his family makes a huge feast with all the relatives and the 7 fishes (which ends up actually being between 12-15!). As it is just the two of us this year, I'm trying to come up with a way to make 7 fishes just for the two of us. This looks like a recipe that would be easy to make just a little of. And the linguini could be used to make linguini with clams as well, knocking off two. As long as you meant 24-48 hours, and not days (lol!) then I'll have enough time to get the cod.
Ack -I changed the days to hours (now that would be insane 🙂 Your 7 or 12 -15 fish meal sounds divine!! Some years my sister does just that - makes a big pot of linguine and two fish sauces (clams and baccala) How it turns out if you make it!
Such a good story! Love the tradition behind this and secretly wish that I was Italian-American and could enjoy this on Christmas Eve, too 🙂
We can arrange your #ItalianAmericanWannaBe training anytime, of course 🙂
I dated an Italian guy once and the thing I miss most is the Christmas Eve seafood! I was just thinking about our Christmas Eve menu. We always go to church at 5pm with my parents and come back to our house for nibbles with a fire in the fireplace. I serve smoked oysters in grape tomatoes for my dad, shrimp cocktail, spanakopita, assorted cheeses and olives, prosciutto-wrapped, goat cheese stuffed dates, dark chocolate and holiday cookies, and champagne. Gotta have the champagne. 🙂
Janice - I love hearing about your traditional Christmas Eve nibbles - it's like all of my favorite foods! We always have Prosecco Christmas along with limoncello 🙂
Your posts always take me back to my childhood! We also abandoned the Christmas Eve fish tradition when we moved to VA from NY in the late 1970's, but I do miss it! Your dish looks delish!
I figured it was a part of your upbringing at some point 🙂 Fun to have similar food childhood memories!
Wow, I have never heard of salt cod! How interesting. I wonder if my husband would like that - he loves any type of sea food. On Christmas morning, our tradition is to have a big breakfast - sausage, sausage gravy, biscuits, etc. (Used to be eggs, too, but no more due to an egg allergy!) Anyway, it is such a nice relaxing and filling breakfast after all the hustle and bustle of the season. Merry Christmas!
That Christmas breakfast sounds delish! If your husband loves seafood, he'd definitely like baccala 🙂
I totally have seen that book in my mom's house !!! Love it. Great recipe and beautiful pics too!
How perfect that this ended up being the recipe you "chose"!! Definitely an Italian Christmas Eve classic.
What a fun and delicious tradition to look forward to every year! Thats funny about the baklava! 🙂
That baccala/baklava joke never gets old in our family 🙂
I always adore the combination of seafood and tomatoes (sauce or broth or stock or ceviche or Mexican shrimp cocktail...or...) but I never seem to get my act together at home. I love the overall simplicity of this recipe, although I'd probably have to substitute another white fish since we can't often find salt cod around here. 🙂
I'm the same way usually, Sarah. Whenever I go out to eat, I typically get a red seafood pasta dish but rarely make them at home - need to do it more often. You could easily swap in regular cod, tilapia or shrimp for this for sure
Please set another place at your Christmas Eve dinner table. I'll be there! 🙂 jk - looks and sounds FABULOUS!
Come on out to West Chester - we'd love to have you 🙂
Wow! I want to be a part of your family! Seven fishes!! I've actually never had nor heard of baccala, but the whole process of desalting is a familiar concept to me. In Korean cooking, we do that with jellyfish. This month's challenge was def a fun one ;).
Get out - never heard about this with jellyfish - is it a salted version you rehydrate? I'm so intrigued 🙂
You just brought back such fond memories! When I lived back home in New England, we often paid a visit to one of my husband's best friend and his family on Christmas night. His wife was Portuguese (and an amazing cook) and the dish I most looked forward to was baccala baked with boiled eggs, garlic, onions, potatoes and lots of olive oil. So. Good. (and I've never been able to replicate the dish). I LOVE the idea of fish for Christmas. Can't wait to make this! Happy holidays!
I love love hearing about this memory, Nancy, and am intrigued by the Portuguese baccala dish - sounds divine! Totally let me know if you make this - merry Christmas to you up North 🙂
So interesting! Have never even heard of this dish before. And fish on christmas even?! such a fun tradition!
xoxo Sarah Grace, Fresh Fit N Healthy.
This looks so comforting! I've always wanted to participate in 7 fishes - I am the ultimate fish/seafood lover!
We got to get you hooked up with a 7 Fish dinner, then, one of these days for sure 🙂
Love your 7 fishes and this baccala tomato sauce spaghetti. A must try for me! I used ot prepare bouillabaisse on Christmas eve, but adopted a meal of lasagna after I had kids. Last month I reworked my fish stew so I could make it ahead of time. Now making it as a weekend meal. Good stuff!
Ahhh, if I couldn't do 7 Fishes on Christmas Eve, bouillabaisse would be an amazing compromise. Definitely let me know if you make this!
I've never cooked baccala but I've seen it around at the supermarket a lot - going to have to try this recipe!
Love the Redux this month- it'll be fun to see so many diverse recipes and congrats on 42 months! We are also Italian American but we usually just do one fish- homemade squid! I'd love to do all 7 at some point though!
This looks so interesting...and Delicious!
This sounds wonderful! I grew up in Maryland, so I'm no stranger to seafood, but sad to say my exposure to cod was limited to store bought, frozen filets. Nowadays, we're fortunate to live in an area where cod is readily available. We love it but I'm sure we've never served it like this. I'm looking forward to making it.
Isn't it great when you are local to seafood -that is my ultimate dream - to be just miles away from the coast for the freshest catch 🙂