Do you observe Lent? Fish on Fridays and abstinence from luxuries and alcohol are a few of the observances for the 40-day interval previous Easter (April 20, 2025). Spain, a predominantly Catholic nation for the previous 500+ years, has tons of of particular dishes and sweets for cuaresma, Lent. They’re known as comida de vigilia, or meals of abstinence, and embody, moreover fish, vegetarian and dairy dishes. Heading the checklist are the various recipes for bacalao, dried salt cod.
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| Bacalao is dry salt cod. |
Why cod, a fish that’s not even captured in Spanish waters? Medieval Basques who engaged on lengthy whaling expeditions, invented the tactic of salt-curing cod, making it an essential meals that might carry on lengthy ocean voyages. Salt fish turned an essential merchandise of commerce. Earlier than the times of refrigeration, except you lived inside a number of hours by mule from a coastal port or on the banks of a trout stream, salt-cured fish was the one fish obtainable. For observant Christians consuming fish on Fridays meant salt cod and different salt fish as the one different to meat throughout Lent.
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| Backyard chard prepared to chop. |
Anybody within the historical past of cod ought to learn Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Modified the World by Mark Kurlansky (Penguin Books, 1998).
My annual tribute to bacalao this Lenten season is an Andalusian potaje of bacalao, chickpeas, and chard. Chard as a result of I’m blessed with a small plot of chard (acelga) that wants harvesting proper now.
Potaje, which suggests “pottage,” is neither a soup nor a stew. It’s soupy and virtually all the time incorporates legumes and different greens, generally with meat and sausages, generally vegetarian, and, this time of yr, usually with bacalao or recent seafood.
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| A hearty major dish with chickpeas, potatoes, greens, and cod. |
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| A serving of potaje with eggs and crushed croutons. |
Lenten Stew with Chickpeas, Bacalao, and Chard
Potaje de Cuaresma con Bacalao y Acelgas
Bacalao is bought entire, in items (the thick lomo or loin is the choicest minimize), and in migas or scraps. In specialty outlets you could find it already desalted and able to use.
If you’re beginning with dry salt cod, permit two or three days to desalt it. Wash the items of salt cod to take away floor salt. Place them in a glass container and canopy with chilly water. Cowl the container and refrigerate. Soak the cod for 36 hours, altering the water twice each day throughout the soaking interval. Drain nicely and maintain refrigerated till able to prepare dinner it.
If you happen to’re beginning with dried chickpeas: Put the chickpeas to soak in scorching water for 8 hours or in a single day. In case your water could be very exhausting, use bottled water or add a pinch of baking soda to each the soaking water and the cooking water. Add the chickpeas to a saucepan of scorching water and convey to a boil. Add an entire tomato and onion. Cowl the pan, scale back the warmth, and simmer till tender, about 90 minutes. Drain the chickpeas, saving the cooking liquid and the cooked tomato and onion. One cup of dried chickpeas yields roughly 3 cups cooked. Puree the tomato and onion in a blender and use them within the recipe as a substitute of the chopped onion and crushed tomatoes.
Serves 4-6.
1 pound desalted salt cod
12-16 ounces chard
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion (or cooked onion)
½ cup diced carrot
3 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika)
Pinch scorching pimentón or cayenne (non-compulsory)
1 teaspoon cumin
½ cup crushed tomatoes (or cooked tomato)
4 cups drained, cooked chickpeas
5 cups water, chickpeas cooking liquid or fish inventory
1 bay leaf
Salt to style
2 medium potatoes, diced
Croutons of fried bread
Laborious boiled eggs to garnish
Chopped parsley to garnish
Minimize the cod into 1-inch items. Discard any pores and skin and bones. Refrigerate the cod till able to prepare dinner.
Wash chard and separate leaves and stalks. Strip away any stringy fibres from the stalks and chop the stalks. Shred or chop the leaves.
Warmth the oil in a soup pot and sauté the onion, carrot, and garlic till softened, 5 minutes. Stir within the pimentón and cumin. Add the tomatoes and chickpeas. Cowl with the water and add the bay leaf and salt to style. Carry the water to a boil and add the potatoes and chard. Scale back warmth to medium-low and simmer, partially lined, till potates are tender, 15 to twenty minutes.
Instantly earlier than serving add the items of cod to the pot. Cowl and prepare dinner 2 minutes. Take away the pan from the warmth and permit to settle 5 minutes. Evenly crush the croutons with a rolling pin or in a mini meals processor.
Serve the potaje in bowls garnished with quartered egg, the crouton crumbs, and parsley.
Extra potajes for Lenten meals:
