Erica De Mane

A salt cod stall you can buy online for your nativity scene.

Recipe below: Baccalà with Potatoes, Black Olives, and Marsala

I love salt cod. It’s unique—not quite fish as we know it, but not quite not fish. Salty, solid, and extra special because I cook it only on Christmas Eve. The soaking starts a few days before, and that’s half the fun. The water gets cloudy as the cod rids itself of excess salt. Then you run through some clean water and start all over again. Sometimes after I finish soaking a big slab of it, I take a bite, raw, for that dense texture and almost indescribable flavor, like fish-scented incense, if anyone would ever invent such a thing. And after a gentle simmering, salt cod becomes slippery. The stuff is good on many levels.

For many Christmas Eves I’ve made baccalà mantecato, a whipped purée popular at Venetian wine bars and also known in southern France as brandade. It’s excellent loaded with good olive oil, garlic, and a bit of potato to fluff it out. I also add thyme and lemon zest. I love it spread on crostini, along with a bowl of black olives and a glass of Vernaccia or whatnot. But the sad fact is, almost no one I know likes it as much as I do, except for my husband’s mother, and she’s no longer alive. Kind of takes the drive out of the preparation. So I’ve scrapped it this year.

Instead I’m doing a more traditional Neapolitan baccalà dish, a stew of sorts. I’ve had it many ways, sometimes with lots of onion and no tomato, others with tomato, olives, capers, pine nuts. Sometimes with potato. I like that, so I went with the potato and the olives and lots of wintry herbs like thyme and rosemary. Also, adding Marsala gave it depth. Marsala is a good thing. But the main key to success, I think, is to flour and sauté the cod chunks separately, not just drop them nude into the sauce. That creates texture and a richer taste. It also thickens the sauce a bit.

Merry Christmas to all my salt cod–loving friends.

Baccala with Potatoes, Black Olives, and Marsala

(Serves 4)

2 pounds center-cut salt cod
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced, plus the leaves, chopped
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 fresh bay leaf
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
A few large thyme sprigs, the leaves chopped
A few large rosemary sprigs, the leaves chopped
½ cup dry Marsala
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, chopped
½ cup chicken broth, light fish broth, or vegetable broth
Black pepper
½ cup regular flour
A big pinch of piment d’Espelette
A big palmful of good black olives, such as Niçoise or, for a stronger flavor, the wrinkled Moroccan type
Salt, if needed
A few big sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, the leaves lightly chopped

First thing, you’ll need to soak the salt cod in a bowl of cold water for at least 2 days, changing the water often to rinse off the salt. At night I put the bowl in the refrigerator. After 2 days of soaking, taste a little piece. If it still seems too salty, soak it for at least another half day.

When the cod is sufficiently desalted, take it out, and pat it dry. Check for bones and skin, removing that stuff, and cut it into large chunks.

Now start the sauce. Put a wide, low-sided pan over medium heat, and drizzle in a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Add the onion and the celery plus leaves, and sauté for a minute or so, just to soften them. Add the potatoes, garlic, bay leaf, nutmeg, thyme, and rosemary. Sauté a minute or so longer, to release all their flavors.

Add the Marsala, and let it bubble out for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes and the broth, and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are just tender, about 7 or 8 minutes. Turn off the heat, and add the olives and a few big grinds of black pepper.

Put the flour on a plate, and season it with the espelette and the black pepper. Dredge the salt cod pieces in the flour.

In a wide sauté pan, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil. When hot, add the cod pieces, and brown them quickly on both sides.

Transfer the browned cod to the pan with the tomato sauce, nestling them in. Turn the heat to medium low, and simmer for about 5 minutes, just until the fish is tender. Add a little more broth if you need to to loosen the sauce. Now taste the sauce for salt. Depending on how salty your fish is, you might not need any. So address that, and then drizzle with a little fresh olive oil and add a few more grinds of black pepper. Garnish with the parsley. Serve hot.