Esqueixada de Bacalao (Catalan Salt Cod Salad)
This refreshing salad, known as Esqueixada de Bacalao, is one of the most popular tapas dishes from the Catalonia region of Spain. Easy to make, it's high in lean protein and low in saturated fats. Just one bite and you'll be transported to the sunny Mediterranean!
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 41kcal
Cost: $15
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
Calories: 41kcal | Protein: 9g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 207mg | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.2mg