Salt cod with peppers

Baccalà, cod preserved in salt, was the fish of people living far from the sea: it kept a long time and was eaten on meatless days. Around Chieti it is cooked with sweet peppers, such as the Altino pepper, with tomato, black olives and capers.

It is one of the dishes of the Christmas Eve dinner, when tradition calls for a meat-free menu.

• 800 g salt cod, already desalted
• 3 sweet red and yellow peppers
• 400 g peeled tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
• A handful of black olives
• 1 tablespoon desalted capers
• 2 garlic cloves, parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Chilli; flour (optional)

1. Desalt the cod in cold water for 2–3 days, changing the water two or three times a day. Cut it into pieces, remove the bones and dry it.
2. Cut the peppers into strips and soften them in a pan with oil and garlic for 15 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, olives, capers and chilli and cook for 10 minutes.
4. If you like, lightly flour the cod and brown it separately in a little oil.
5. Add the cod to the pepper sauce and cook over low heat for 15–20 minutes, without stirring too much so it does not break.
6. Taste before adding salt, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

• Pre-soaked salt cod can be found at fishmongers in the days before Christmas.
• The sauce is also excellent with toasted country bread.
• You can replace some of the fresh peppers with pickled peppers, for a bolder flavour.

We do not have photos of this dish yet: the image is an illustration made for this page.

Salt cod reached Abruzzo from northern Europe through the Adriatic ports, and spread as far as the mountain villages because it kept so long.

In farmhouses it was the fish of meatless days and religious feasts; with peppers from the vegetable garden it became a rich, colourful dish.