One of the classic Venetian dishes I made for Annette's Venetian Birthday Feast was Baccala Mantecato, or creamed baccala. Creamed in this case means it is almost pureed and then olive oil is added, but there's a trick.
The basic recipe:the salt cod is freshened, then cooked in milk, and finally pounded into smithereens while extra-virgin olive oil is added.
The secret to a traditional Baccala Mantecato is that the fish must not be pureed in a food processor. You need the fibers to be intact when they absorb the olive oil.
The recipes say to pound the freshened, cooked fish in a mortar and pestle, but it doesn't take long for the busy cook to realize that you can only do a little at a time in a common mortar-and-pestle, and it is a slow process to pound each little bit. And after a preliminary pounding to get the big chunks into a manageable size, then you go at it again to reduce it to shreds.
I didn't have that much time, but a food processor is forbidden - what to do? How to beat on the fish adequately without the whirring blades? I'll tell you how I handled it. If you have a better idea, please list it in the comments below.
I used my KitchenAid food grinder attachment, without the cutting blade or the final disc. I reasoned that just passing through the motorized screw would take care of that laborious first step of breaking the chunks into manageable pieces.
It worked! The fish came out looking just like the first bits I had pounded. I gathered them up and went after them with the mortar and pestle, but this time the work went a lot faster. I added the oil and parsley as directed and it produced a lovely, delicate appetizer,
Comments