Stockfish stew
Stewed stockfish made Genoese style with potatoes, olives, pine nuts and flavours is called ‘stoccafisso accomodato’. Stoccafisso is dried cod (while baccalà is salt cod). Being dried, stockfish is an ingredient that can be stored easily and for a long time and this has meant that it has become a popular product even in areas far removed from its place of origin. In fact, cod is fished in the North Sea (and then dried locally) but has become, since the 16th century, one of the most widely used fish in Genoese cuisine. Moreover, the church prescriptions of the period regarding food, whereby at certain times of the year believers were forbidden to eat meat (‘lean days’), further contributed to the spread of stockfish in popular Ligurian gastronomic culture.
As wine to accompany stoccafisso accomodato, you can choose the white wine used in the recipe (we recommend a Ligurian vermentino) or a local red is also fine, since it is a recipe made with tomatoes. On our e-commerce you can find an excellent selection of Ligurian wines: click here!
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As we wrote a few lines above, stockfish is dried cod. After the fish has been caught, it is cleaned of head and guts, then placed on wooden racks. The drying process takes place in the open air for several months, thanks to Norway’s cold and dry climate, which is perfect for this method of preservation. The maturing of the stockfish then finishes indoors for two to three months, after which it is marketable.
Therefore, since it is dried fish, before it can be used in the kitchen, it must be soaked, kept for at least two weeks in running water and beaten to break it down. This is why it is usually bought already soaked.
In Genoa, stockfish is known as ‘stocche’.
Stockfish stew
INGREDIENTS FOR STOCKFISH STEW
HOW TO MAKE STOCKFISH STEW
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We clean and prepare the stockfish for cooking
To remove the bones and skin more easily, take the already soaked stockfish and blanch it for a few minutes in boiling water. After you have cleaned the stockfish, cut it into large pieces. Meanwhile, soak the dried mushrooms and then chop them together with the garlic, carrot and onion.
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Start cooking
Put a drizzle of oil and the salted, cleaned and desalted anchovies in a high-sided saucepan. When the anchovies begin to melt, add the mince and fry. Then it is time to add the stockfish and pine nuts, fry, and finally wet with the white wine and let it evaporate quickly. Add the tomato paste and cover with a lid. While cooking, check that it does not become too dry and if it does, add a little water.
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Add potatoes
After an hour, add the potatoes cut into chunks and the taggiasche olives (if you see that there is little liquid in the casserole, add water or stock). Check the salt. Let it cook for at least another half an hour with the lid on until the potatoes are cooked. At the end, you can add a sprinkling of pepper if you like.
