Sunday Pasta Paccheri Ripieni Di Baccala Mantecato Cod Recipes

BACCALà MANTECATO: A SAVORY SPREAD OF WHIPPED SALT COD

Steps:

• When the baccalà is sufficiently soaked, cut it into small pieces-6 inches or so-and put them in a saucepan or deep skillet with at least an inch of water to cover. Bring to a boil, set the cover ajar (rest it on a wooden spoon set on the rim of the pan), and cook at a steady bubbling boil for 20 minutes or more, until the cod is easy to flake but still has body and shape. Don't let it start to break apart. Lift it out of the cooking water, and let it drain and cool in a colander. Reserve a cup of the cooking water.
• Meanwhile, rinse the potato but leave it whole and unpeeled. Put it in a small pot covered with cold water. Bring to the boil, and cook steadily until you can easily pierce the potato with a knife blade.
• Let it cool, and peel it.
• Set up the electric mixer and flake all the fish into the bowl. Beat with the paddle at low speed to break the fish up more; drop in the minced garlic, and beat at medium speed while you pour in half the olive oil very gradually in a thin stream, then add the potato and incorporate it; continue beating at low speed as you gradually add the rest of the oil.
• Now raise the speed to high and whip the fish to lighten it.
• Reduce the speed to medium and incorporate the half-and- half gradually, then whip at high speed again. At this point the whipped cod should be smooth and fluffy, almost like mashed potatoes but with texture. If it is very dense, you can thin it with the cooking water (but be careful: too much water will make it too salty).
• Finally, season with pepper and beat it in to blend. If you use a food processor instead of a mixer, follow the same order of additions, and process as needed to form a light, smooth spread. Put the spread in containers and store sealed, in the refrigerator, for up to a week. You can also freeze baccalà mantecato; the texture will not be as creamy, but it will have good flavor and makes a delicious pasta sauce.

LIDIA BASTIANICH'S BACCALA MANTECATO (CREAMY WHIPPED SALT COD)

Steps:

• Soak the salt cod overnight in a large bowl of cold water, changing the water often, to remove the excess salt. Cut the cod into 6-inch pieces and put them in a saucepan with water to cover by 1 inch. Bring the water to a boil and cook the salt cod for about 20 minutes, until it just begins to flake. Do not let the fish break apart. Remove the cod to a colander to drain and cool.
• Meanwhile, rinse the russet potato, but leave it whole and unpeeled. Cook the potato in its skin until it is cooked through and easily pierced with a knife. Let it cool, and then peel the skin away with the back side of a knife.
• Set up a food processor with steel knife blade. Put in the cooked salt cod and pulse it a few times to break up the fish. Add the minced garlic and pulse a few more times. Add the potato and light cream and turn the food processor on. Puree the mixture while adding the olive oil in a thin stream. If the mixture is too dense, thin it with some of the cod poaching liquid. Season with freshly ground pepper. The baccala is best served warm as a spread for grilled country bread or crostini, or even as a dip for crudités.

QUICK PASTA WITH BACCALà MANTECATO

Steps:

• Start cooking your dry pasta in a big pot of salted water just before starting the sauce. If you are doing fresh pasta or gnocchi, don't put it in until after you start the sauce.
• Pour the oil in the skillet, scatter the garlic in the oil, and put the pan over medium heat. Get the garlic sizzling, but don't let it get dark; stir it or shake the pan frequently. After a couple of minutes, sprinkle the pepper flakes in the oil, let them sizzle for a minute, then scrape in the baccalà spread and stir it well in the skillet.
• Let the baccalà heat up for a few minutes; ladle 2 cups of boiling water from the pasta pot into the skillet and stir it, incorporating the baccalà mantecato, garlic, and oil into a thin sauce. Bring it to a boil, stirring, add the salt and pepper to taste, then adjust the heat to keep the sauce simmering actively until the pasta is almost al dente.
• Add the drained pasta or gnocchi to the skillet, and toss to coat and finish cooking with the sauce (see page 92). Remove from the heat, toss with parsley, and serve.

BACCALA MANTECATO (SALT COD IN MILK SAUCE)

Steps:

• Put enough cold water to cover the fish in a pot with the fish, carrot, celery, and onion, and bring it to a boil over medium heat. As soon as the water boils, remove from the heat and let the pot stand for 5 minutes, then remove the fish with a skimmer and lay it on absorbent paper to drain and cool. When the baccala is cool enough to handle, remove all the bones, a necessarily manual operation. Do not remove the skin, however.
• Put the milk in a pan over low heat, and heat it until it is hot, taking care not to boil or burn it. Meanwhile, crumble the baccala by hand and put it in a bowl. Use a pestle to pulverize the fish, stopping every now and then to whisk in, alternately, trickles of oil and hot milk. Go back and forth between using the pestle and whisk. Continue to beat tirelessly; the process should take about 15 minutes. Salt is not normally necessary, but do add some black pepper. If the mixture gets too cold to mix well during the mashing, reheat it in a bain-marie until it is sufficiently malleable. You should also reheat it until it's warm when you are about to serve it. Accompany it with croutons of fried white bread or fried polenta.

SUNDAY PASTA®: PACCHERI RIPIENI DI BACCALA' MANTECATO (COD)

Steps:

• In a large pot, dilute the broth with the water. Add garlic and bring to a boil. Add the fish and cover. After 2-3 minutes, remove from heat and let cool. (If using dried or salted cod, soak it in cold water for 24-48 hours, changing the water frequently.)
• Remove the fish with a slotted spoon from the pot, retain the cooking liquid. Crumble the fish with your fingers into a bowl, removing any bones. Add a few ounces of the cooking liquid and whip with a wooden spoon until it is separated. At the point, remove it to a food processor or use a handheld mixer or continue with the spoon. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, alternating with the milk. Continue to whip together until a creamy consistency is achieved. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finally, stir in the parsley with a spoon.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the paccheri for half of the suggested cooking time. Drain them and drizzle with olive oil so they do not stick together.
• Using a spoon or a pastry bag, carefully fill each paccheri with the baccala and place them on a baking tray.
• Heat an oven to 350F degrees. On a lower shelf, place a pan of water, so that it creates some moisture in the oven. On an upper shelf, warm the paccheri for 10-15 minutes or until they are serving temperature.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté the onion in the olive oil until golden. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 10 to 15, until slightly reduced.
• Remove the paccheri from the oven, and plate 4-6 per person, cover with a spoonful of the tomato sauce. Serve immediately.

CHEF JOHN'S SUNDAY PASTA SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place beef, pork, and chicken in pan and turn to coat with olive oil.
• Roast in the preheated oven until meat is well browned, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir onion with a pinch of salt in hot oil until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour crushed tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups water, and tomato paste into onion mixture. Add roasted beef, pork, and chicken to tomato sauce mixture.
• Pour remaining 1/2 cup water into the roasting pan, and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Pour roasting pan water mixture into tomato mixture. Stir Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Italian parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes into tomato sauce; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently until sauce reduces and meat is tender, about 4 hours. Transfer meat to a dish. Adjust sauce seasonings to taste.