My Family's Baccala Salad

Salted cod aka baccala is an Italian delicacy enjoyed at the holidays, particularly on Christmas Eve during the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

The key to success is to cover the salted cod with cold water about three days prior to making the salad. Change the water out daily 2-3 times per day. In addition, boiling the cod for what may seem to be like a really excessive amount of time is key to the fish's tenderness.

Here's what the cod looks like when you purchase it:

As you see, the fish is preserved in salt. This is why soaking it, is key! I use a gigantic Tupperware container with a lid.

While every family has their own style and tradition in making this dish, I'm sharing with you the way my Mommom Sacco and my mom Judy did it. It is enjoyed during our Feast every year. I hope your family loves it, too!

Baccala Salad

Makes about 20 appetizer servings

 1.5-2 pound salted cod

Fresh water to soak the baccala

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, plus more for serving if desired

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Pinch of salt, to taste, if necessary

Three days prior to cooking, place salted cod in a large bowl with a lid. Cover cod with fresh cold water. Water should be at least an inch or two above the cod. Cover the bowl with lid. Place in fridge. Drain the water and repeat 2-3 times per day until the day of cooking.

On the day of cooking and preparing the baccala: Remove covered bowl with cod from fridge. Drain the soaking water. Fill a large pot with fresh water. Place cod in pot of water. 

Place pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Simmer until cod is tender and can fall apart with a fork. Start checking the cod at 20 minutes. Depending on how thick your fish is, it may need to simmer up to 40 minutes. Drain in a colander.

While the cod in the colander cools slightly, heat a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add olive oil, garlic and parsley. Saute for two minutes. 

While the cod is still warm, flake into a bowl. Cod should be bite-sized pieces. Pour garlic oil mixture on top. Gently stir to coat the fish. Add red wine vinegar. Stir again. Taste for seasoning. Add a pinch of salt if necessary. Serve warm or place in refrigerator until ready to serve. This dish can be eaten at room temperature or chilled. I like to make it the day before serving so that the flavors marinate well, but my mom makes it Christmas Eve morning.

Serve with extra red wine vinegar and crusty bread.

Rosemary Focaccia

A day at home with no plans is blissful for me.

Now I can get up and go with the best of them, but seriously you can put me on house arrest for a good two weeks and I will be just fine. As long as I can cook, bake, read, play the piano, organize some things and watch trashy TV it's all good in the hood for the Jersey Girl.

Our culture of never-ending plans, appointments, commitments and outings kills my spirit.

So I have encountered great insane joy when I have had the time to delve into this awesome book that has found its way into my collection: "Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (Of Sorts)." There are so many interesting recipes, and as soon as my glistening eyes caught sight of this focaccia recipe I read it from top to bottom and then once more. I declared this focaccia must be mine.

Isn't it totally gorgeous? I've made the focaccia twice. It's a very easy bread to conquer. It just takes time to rest and get its groove on. My son  - who is obsessed with rosemary (yay) - likes to assist with putting the dimples in the dough and placing the rosemary leaves and sprinkling with a little sea salt. 

I love making this with him! The bread lasts for several days if stored in an airtight container. It's so good with pasta e fagioli and also with chicken cacciatore. 

The next time you have some spare time on your hands and you want to get into in your kitchen, I hope you give this amazing recipe a try!

Focaccia
From "Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (Of Sorts)"
By Russell Norman

For one loaf:
25 g fresh yeast (or 2 x 7g fast-action yeast)
650 ml warm water
1 kg strong white bread flour (4 cups)
25 g fine salt (5 tsp.)
Extra virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt
1 good handful of small rosemary sprigs

In a large bowl, mix the fresh or dried yeast into the water and whisk until the yeast is dissolved. Add half of the strong white bread flour and use a hand whisk to beat till smooth. At this stage, your mixture will still be very wet, like a pancake batter. Leave, covered with clingfilm, until it has risen but keep a close eye on the 'tide line.' When the mixture starts to fall again (about 1 hour in a warm kitchen, longer in a cooler one), knead in the other 500 g of strong white bread flour and the fine salt. Work everything together until there are no lumps.

Transfer the dough to a warm, oiled, clean bowl and leave it to rise for at least another hour. Your dough will be getting full of itself by now so you need to knock it back and teach it some discipline. Repeat this step (rising and knocking back) twice more only if using fresh yeast. Now your dough is ready to use or it can be covered and refrigerated overnight.

Oil your hands and a greaseproof-paper-lined baking tray. Take the dough and manipulate into a large dome. Place on the tray, smear a generous amount of olive oil over the top, cover in clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place.

Preheat an oven to 200 degrees Celsius/Gas 6 (or 400 degrees Fahrenheit). When the dough has increased in size by one third, remove the clingfilm, oil your hands and lightly press your fingers into the dough so that you leave dimples in the surface. Scatter with sea salt and rosemary, pushing the sprigs into the dough.

Bake the dough in the preheated oven until golden brown (about 1 hour but you should check at 45 minutes). To test the bread's 'doneness', tap it on the bottom - it should sound hollow.

Chicken Paillard, Pizzette-Style

I love this recipe; I love this cookbook.

This dish is called Chicken Paillard, Pizzette-Style. It is from the awesome cookbook by Rachael Ray called "Everyone is Italian on Sunday." This cookbook has your traditional Italian-American recipes like chicken parm and fried calamari, but it also goes beyond with some awesome outside-the-box recipes. Like this one.

Paillard is a French term, that means pounded-out meat - usually chicken or veal. I take a shortcut and just buy thin-cut chicken cutlets at the store. To make cutlets out of chicken breast. Cut the chicken breast in half vertically and open up the sides as if your opening a book. Make two cutlets. Place between plastic wrap and pound the bejesus out of them with a meat pounder or a mallet. You can even use a rolling pin.

I hope this is a recipe you enjoy all summer long!

Chicken Paillard, Pizzette-Style

Serves 4
From "Everyone is Italian on Sunday"
By Rachael Ray

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each), butterflied and pounded into cutlets, or 8 skinless thin-cut chicken cutlets
1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt and black pepper
1 tsp. granulated garlic aka garlic powder
1 tsp. granulated onion aka onion powder
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
A fat handful of basil leaves
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, very thinly sliced or shredded on the large holes of a box grater
Arugula or baby kale for garnish

Butterfly and pound the chicken cutlet breasts into cutlets. (You can skip this step by using store-made thin-cut chicken cutlets.

In a shallow dish, drizzle the chicken with the oil and season with salt, black pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes and thyme. Let marinate while you make the sauce.

In a large skillet with a lid, heat the oil (1 turn of the pan) over medium-high heat. Add the sliced garlic and stir for a minute. Add the tomatoes, season with salt, cover and cook to soften the tomatoes, shaking the pan occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Wilt in the basil.

Preheat the broiler. Heat a large griddle pan or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Cook the chicken on the griddle pan for a few minutes on each side, then transfer to baking sheets.

Treating the chicken like a small pizza crust, spread with sauce and top with mozzarella.

Broil to brown and melt the cheese.

Serve topped with arugula or baby kale.

Please note: The Jersey Girl uses thin-cut chicken cutlets rather than butterflying and pounding chicken breasts. She also places the prepared chicken on top of the arugula.

Pasta e Fagioli

This cold dreary March is proving we still need some comfort food. The perfect solution: Pasta e Fagioli.

For best results, let it simmer for a long time. Give it like 45 minutes. And most importantly, cook the pasta in a separate pot of water. That way, all the wonderful broth isn't soaked up by the spongelike qualities of teeny tiny pasta.

Pancetta is an Italian bacon. In my opinion, it's not as fatty and bacony as American bacon. You can purchase it at Italian grocery stores, but even my good ole' Shoprite carries it. I like to buy a pound of it sliced and store it in the freezer. I just take out a couple of slices when I need them for a dish.

Pasta e fagioli is fabulous topped with a drizzle of olive oil and a bit of parmigiano. Serve with bread and vino, of course!

Pasta e Fagioli
Makes 8 servings

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 slices pancetta, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 onion, finely chopped
2 small carrots, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 19 ounce can Cento cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 inch piece of Parmigiano cheese rind (optional)
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 cups water
1 cup ditalini, tubetti or elbow pasta

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pancetta. Stir frequently and cook until lightly browned. With a slotted spoon, remove pancetta to a small dish.

To the soup pot, add onion, carrots and celery. Stir to coat in oil. Add, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add garlic. Cook for another minute or two.

Add cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, broth and water. Return pancetta to pot. Add parmigiano cheese rind, if using. Stir. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cook partially covered for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Fill a separate small pot with water. Bring to a boil and add salt. Cook pasta as directed on package instructions. Drain pasta.

Once soup has finished cooking after 45 minutes, add pasta.

Serve in bowls topped with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of grated parmigiano cheese.

Please note: You may need to add more water if you would like the soup more brothy.

With the Quickness

My Grilled Italian Sausage with Cannellini and Baby Kale comes together in thirty minutes and is totally amazing. I cooked it late night solo while my husband is away. I get all up in the kitchen to clear my mind, but this is a total practical dish. It makes a great weeknight din.

Enjoy!

Grilled Italian Sausage with Cannellini and Baby Kale

Makes 4 servings
1 pound hot sausage, cut into four equal links
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 5-ounce package baby kale
1 15-19 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

In a grill pan over medium-high heat, brown sausage on all sides.

At the same time, heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic. Saute for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and cannellini. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add white wine and water. Add basil. Bring to a simmer.

Once the sausage is browned nicely, add it to the sauce pan. Cover and allow sauce and sausage to simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Right before serving, toss in kale. Wilt for 2-3 minutes.

Serve topped with parmigiano cheese and crusty bread drizzled with olive oil.