The Venetians love for baccalà was born out of the misfortune of a few Venetian ships that were stranded in the Lofoten islands in Norway for a whole winter in 1431.  A merchant ship, sailing under Captain Pietro Querini, sailed from Iraklion in Crete to Flanders but on the way encountered a devastating storm – the storm blew them all the way to the Lofoten islands and that is where it all began. There they discovered dried cod and from then onwards the stoccafisso (stockfish or dried cod)  was imported into Venice to become part of the Venetian cuisine. It was known as  baccalà.

This recipe is typical of Venetian cooking – the further north one travels in Italy, the less fiery the cooking becomes because the Arab influenced southern cooking is left behind and food becomes more delicate and richer – influenced by the food of the North.

Ingredients

• 700 g baccala (salted cod) soaked
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 500 ml milk
• 250 ml thin cream
• 150 ml pitted, sweet black olives
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and not chopped
• 6 anchovies
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• Enough flour to dust the fish

Soak baccala as in earlier recipes*, break into pieces and discard the bones and the skin and then shake up in a plastic bag with the flour to ensure that all the pieces are well covered with flour.

Method

Preheat oven to 180 C

• Heat the oil in a pan that can be used in the oven for baking purposes, sauté the onions, add half the anchovies and mix them into the onion mixture so that you have a puree of sorts.
• Stir in the parsley, put the pieces of fish on top of it and move around with a spoon so that the fish pieces are covered in onion, chili and parsley.
• Put the garlic into the dish – I don’t like to sauté garlic (because I don’t like the taste) and always just add it into the dish.
• Place the rest of the anchovies on top and now add enough freshly ground black pepper. (There is no point in giving only one or two little grinds because it won’t even be noticed, so do it well).
• Mix the milk and the cream together and pour over the fish.
• Cover with foil and place in the oven to bake for about 35 minutes until the fish has absorbed all the milk and cream.
• Dot with the olives and put back in the oven, switch the oven on and leave the fish in the oven, uncovered for about 15 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread and, just for a difference, a bottle of any good white Hermitage.