Milanese Salt Cod Fritters (Lombardy)

Fish

Ingredients

Dried salt cod- 2 pounds

Onion, chopped- 1 small

Parsley- 2-3 sprigs

Lemons- 2

Olive oil for frying

Batter:

Eggs- 2

All purpose flour- 5 tbsps

Olive oil- 4 tsp

Baccala or stoccafisso is cod, sometimes haddock, that has been dried in the sun and preserved in salt. It requires at least 24 hours soaking in running water before it can be used. In Italy, the soaking is often done by the grocers who sell the fish. There it can be purchased dry i.e. unsoaked, partially soaked and completely soaked, the cost of soaked fish being higher.

In the following recipe it is assumed that the fish has not been soaked.

Soak the dried fish in water for 24-48 hours, changing the water every 8 hours. Drain the fish, skin and bone it and cut into pieces about 2 to 3 inches square. Make sure no bones or bits of skin are left. Put the squares into a pan of water with the chopped onion, parsley and 1/2 lemon. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 1 minute, then remove it from the heat and leave covered for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a batter: beat the eggs and gradually add the flour and enough water to make it a fairly thick, smooth batter. Stir in the olive oil and let the batter rest for 30 minutes.

Heat plenty of olive oil in a deep frying pan until smoking hot. Drain the cod and dip the pieces into the batter. Drop these one by one into the boiling oil and fry on both sides until golden brown. Drain the fritters on paper towels and serve hot, garnished with lemon wedges.

Serves 6.