Esqueixada de Bacalao (Catalan Cod Fish Salad)
This refreshing salad, known as Esqueixada de Bacalao, is one of the most popular tapas dishes from the Catalonia region of Spain.
Made with salt cod, fresh veggies, Spanish olive oil and black olives, it’s high in lean protein and low in saturated fats. Just one bite and you’ll be transported to the sunny Mediterranean!
Serve esqueixada de bacalao (also known as esqueixada de bacalla) as a tapas appetizer along with sardine snacks and salpicón de mariscos as they do at Catalan restaurants in Barcelona, Spain. Or as a light lunch.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Esqueixada de bacalao was one of our favourite dishes during our two months spent eating our way around the Mediterranean from Barcelona to Greece to Italy.
While we were already big fans of salted cod having enjoyed it in crispy fritters in Martinique’s accras de morue and as stew in Guatemala’s bacalao a la vizcaína, esqueixada de bacalao is different than other traditional salt cod recipes.
Most importantly, it isn’t battered and deep fried. Instead it’s served crudo (uncooked). In that way it’s similar to a fish dishes such as ceviche and poisson cru.
- High in both lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids, esqueixada de bacalao is the perfect fit for the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet.
- Bacalao salad combines the saltiness of the cod with the sweetness of ripe tomatoes, the crunchiness of peppers, and the richness of olives, creating a satisfying and flavourful dish without the need for unhealthy saturated fats.
- It’s a recipe seafood lovers will instantly fall in love with. Serving cod chilled really allows cod’s delicate flavour to shine through.
- This Catalan tapa is a refreshing addition to a tapas selection at a party. It’s meant to be enjoyed in just a few tasty bites.
- Super easy to make, esqueixada de bacalao takes less than 10 minutes to put together once the dried cod is desalted.
- The vibrant flavour of the cod and crisp veggies makes this Mediterranean dish ideal for summer potlucks or boating trips.
Ingredients
Here are the highlights of what you need to make this esqueixada de bacalao recipe. You’ll find the full ingredient list and quantities in the recipe card (please scroll down).
- Salted Cod: Has a mild, slightly sweet and briny taste with a unique depth of flavour due to the preservation process of drying and salting.
- White Onion: Mild Spanish white onion contributes a pungent and crisp, slightly sweet flavour that complements the cod.
- Roma Tomato: Roma tomatoes have a dense, meaty texture with fewer seeds and less water content compared to other tomato varieties. They’re also slightly sweeter.
- Red and Green Bell Pepper: Fresh peppers add sweet and subtly tangy flavour as well as vibrant colour and texture.
- Black Olives: Spanish or kalamata olives add a rich, briny, and slightly bitter flavour enhancing its depth and complexity. Unpitted have better flavour and texture than pitted.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The distinct taste of Spanish olive oil enhances the flavour of Mediterranean seafood dishes. For this recipe look for a Spanish Arbequina olive oil, known for its delicate, fruity, and mildly nutty flavour rather than that of the peppery, slightly bitter Picual olive oil.
- Lemon: A splash of lemon provides a burst of citrusy freshness and also further tenderizes the fish.
How to Choose Salted Cod
One thing I learned at the wonderful La Boqueria Market in Barcelona, is that there is a wide variety of sizes and quality of salt cod available.
Unlike here in Canada where salt cod is sold in large slabs, in Barcelona, it’s sold in pieces based on thickness.
Being able to choose the section of the fish really adds to the quality of the dish.
So when purchasing salt cod at your fish mongers or supermarket try to purchase a thick piece from the middle of the fish rather than the tail or head.
🌟 Pro Tip: The key to choosing dried salt cod is to purchase a piece that isn’t too thin. Look for a middle piece of the filet. Try to choose a piece without a lot of visible bones.
Is Salted Cod Safe to Eat?
Saltwater fish can contain parasites known as nematodes and is a natural phenomenon says Health Canada.
However the good news is that potential parasites in cod are destroyed by commercial freezing (and storage for more than 24 hours) as well as being heated to a minimum temperature by normal cooking.
Is Bacalao (Salt Cod) Safe to Eat Without Cooking?
According to Dr. Timothy Sly, Professor Emeritus in Epidemiology at Toronto Metropolitan University, commercial drying and salting together provide such a hostile environment for nematodes that it renders the fish parasite-free, even when soaked and “de-salted”.
Substitutions and Variations
- No fresh lemon? Substitute champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar for the fresh lemon juice.
- Swap Spanish capers for black olives.
- Omit the red and green peppers, substituting celery.
- For a Latin American spin, swap fresh lime juice for lemon.
- If you don’t have salt cod you can substitute fresh cod. However for food safety reasons you need to cook fresh cod before eating it. The FDA recommends that fresh fish be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). So bake fresh cod filets, cool and then use in this recipe. Note that the taste and texture won’t be the same as the traditional Catalan recipe.
How to Make Esqueixada de Bacalao Catalana
There’s a little bit of planning and prep to making this traditional salt cod salad, but let’s go through it step by step.
- Place the salt cod in a rectangular glass Pyrex dish and cover it with cool water. Place in the refrigerator and allow the fish to soak in the water for 12 hours.
- Drain off the salty water, add more fresh cool water and return to the refrigerator.
- Repeat this process for 3 days changing the water at least twice dailyor until the salt cod is desalted to taste. By the end of the process, the cod should be plump and only slightly salty. When the soaking process is finished, drain the cod and pat dry with paper towel.
- If you are using reconstituted cod, skip the first three steps and just rinse and pat dry.
- Remove any dark skin, tough flesh and bones.
- Shred the cod with your fingers (or two forks) into small pieces around one inch (2.5 cm) in size. Shredding produces the best texture. But depending on the size of the pieces of the cod you purchase you likely need to cut the cod into pieces first then shred it.
- Place shredded cod in a glass bowl and toss lightly.
- Finely dice onion.
- Chop tomato, discarding the seeds and any liquid. Dice peppers into uniform pieces.
- Add one half of the extra virgin olive oil and mix lightly. Mix only enough to coat the cod and vegetables with olive oil.
- Squeeze fresh lemon over mixture and toss again. Adjust salt to taste.
- Refrigerate covered for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Turn out onto a platter (or individual tapas sized plates).
- Arrange black olives on top.
- Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Add freshly ground pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Serve Esqueixada de Bacalao chilled. Allow it to rest on the counter for 5 minutes after removing from the refrigerator so the olive oil can warm up enough to become fluid.
It pairs well with pa amb tomàquet (pan con tomate), the traditional Catalan food which is toasted bread with tomato. Any kind of rustic, crusty bread is a good substitute.
Enjoy this light appetizer as a preamble to a hearty main dish such as Spanish Chicken and Chorizo Stew.
It’s also fantastic with a selection of tapas such as sardine paté on crostini, salpicon de marisco (seafood salad), Caprese skewers and quality tinned fish.
The sea salt in this melt-in-your-mouth tapa stimulates thirst so it pairs perfectly with sparkling cava wine or a Spanish Gin and Tonic.
How to Store
Store Esqueixada de Bacalao covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It’s so quick to make, it should be made fresh and never frozen.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to taste the salt cod after it’s soaked to be sure it’s been desalted enough. You may need to repeat the soaking and draining process a few extra times before it reaches the desired level of salinity.
- Purchasing dried salted cod and soaking it to desalt it at home produces better results than shredded desalted cod sold in the refrigerated section of a supermarket.
- Some people use a Thermomix to chop the ingredients. But I recommend doing it by hand for the best texture.
- If the onion is potent, chop it into small pieces and soak in ice water for 15 minutes. Drain and use.
Recipe FAQs
Bacalao is the salted and dried version of cod fish. In addition to extending the shelf life of the fish, the preservation process adds a unique depth of flavour and briny taste to the cod, which is naturally a mild fish.
The fastest way to remove salt from dried salt cod is rinse it well. Then submerge the fish in cool water in a shallow glass dish, soak it in water in the refrigerator for 12 hours, drain it and replenish the water and return it to the fridge. Repeat the desalting process twice daily for three days. To speed up the process, repeat the desalting process four times daily for two days.
According to Dr. Timothy Sly, Professor Emeritus at Toronto Metropolitan University, the drying and salting preservation process creates such a hostile environment for nematodes (parasites) that it renders bacalao parasite-free, even when soaked and de-salted. So it’s safe to eat bacalao once it’s reconstituted and de-salted without cooking.
More Delicious Recipes from Spain
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Esqueixada de Bacalao (Catalan Salt Cod Salad)
Equipment
- 1 Knife
- 1 cutting board
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 200 grams dried salted cod Or rehydrated salted cod (dried cod that’s already been soaked in water and desalted).
- 1 Roma tomato
- ½ small white onion mild Spanish
- ¼ red bell pepper
- ¼ green bell pepper
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Spanish (Divided in half).
- ½ a fresh whole lemon
- ¼ cup black olives preferably Spanish but Greek Kalamata olives are a good substitute
- sea salt to taste
- freshly-ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the salt cod in a rectangular glass Pyrex dish and cover it with cool water. Place it in the refrigerator, covered and allow it to soak in the water for 12 hours.
- Drain off the salty water. Add more fresh cool water and return to the refrigerator.
- Repeat this process for 3 days changing the water at least twice daily or until the salt cod is desalted to taste. By the end of the process, the cod should be plumped and only slightly salty. When the soaking process is finished, drain the cod and pat dry with paper towel.
- If you are using reconstituted cod, skip the first three steps and just rinse and pat dry.
- Remove any dark skin, tough flesh and bones from the fish.
- Shred the cod with your fingers (or two forks) into small pieces around one inch (2.5 cm) in size. Shredding the cod produces the best texture. But depending on the size of the pieces of the cod purchased you may need to cut the cod into pieces first then shred it.
- Place shredded cod in a glass bowl and toss lightly.
- Finely dice onion. If it is strongly flavoured then first soak the diced onion in ice water for 15 minutes and drain.
- Chop tomato, discarding the seeds and any liquid. Dice peppers into uniform pieces.
- Fold onion, tomato and peppers into salted cod.
- Add one half of the extra virgin olive oil and mix lightly. Mix only enough to coat the cod and vegetables with olive oil.
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice over mixture and toss again. Adjust salt to taste.
- Refrigerate covered for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Turn out onto a platter (or individual tapas sized plates). Arrange black olives on top.
- Drizzle with remaining olive oil.
- Add freshly ground pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The key to choosing dried salt cod is to purchase a piece of fish that isn’t too thin or full of bones. Look for a middle piece of the filet. Try to choose a piece without a lot of visible bones.
- Be sure to taste the salt cod after it’s soaked to be sure it’s been desalted enough. You may need to repeat the soaking and draining process a few extra times before it reaches the desired level of salinity.
- Purchasing dried salted cod and soaking it in water to desalt it at home produces better results than using pre-shredded, desalted cod.
Nutrition
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This recipe is now on my weekly list. I love the combination of all the ingredients and the textures. I will have it with rice, legumes and chili as we do in my country or on toast.
Enjoying it with rice is a great idea Geraldine!