Pasta with dried salted cod (Tiana 'e baccalà, region Calabria)

This is a typical dish of the region Calabria, usually cooked on Christmas eve. Before cooking it, you need to soak the dried cod in water for 2 to 4 days. In other versions of this recipe the pasta can be replaced by potatoes or some tomato sauce might be added.

Ingredients (4 servings)

dried salted cod 600 g

pasta (preferably penne) 500 g

grated stale bread or bread crumbs soaked in water and squeezed 250 g

mixed cheeses (50% parmesan or cow's milk melting cheese and 50% sheep's milk cheese) 250 g

olive oil 70 g

3 cloves of garlic

chopped parsley

salt, pepper (optional)

Preparation

Before starting cooking, desalinate the cod by soaking it in water for 2-4 days and remove any fishbone.                       

Heat some oil in a pan, add a bit of garlic and the crushed cod. Add immediately 250 g of water, a pinch of salt and cook for 15 minutes, preventing the water from evaporating completely; if needed, add some more water. Keep the sauce for later and put the bread crumbs (or the grated bread) in a bowl, add the cheeses, the finely chopped garlic, the parsley, a bit of black pepper and mix everything and keep it for later

In the meantime boil some salted water to cook the pasta. When it is cooked (al dente), add a bit of the previously prepared cod sauce and stir.

In a non-stick oven tray pour a bit of cod sauce and lay the first layer of pasta, followed by a layer of cod, a layer of bread crumbs (or grated bread) and pour some other cod sauce. Lay a second layer of pasta and finish with a layer of bread crumbs (or grated bread), pour some cod sauce and sprinkle with some grated cheese.

Put in preheated oven (180°C) for about 30-35 minutes until the pasta turns slightly brown. Serve immediately.