Ingredients:
For the creamy baccalà:
300 gr of cooked baccalà (steamed or poached)
50 ml of whole milk
50 ml of double cream
300 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the polenta:
1 lt of water
300 gr of polenta flour
50 gr of unsalted butter
50 gr of grated Grana Padano cheese
Olive oil to grease the pan
Salt and pepper to taste
To garnish:
Pickled red onion
Chopped chives
Method:
Start with the baccalà, Be mindful of the salt, many baccalà fillets are sold already de-salted but best to double check the labels. If needed, leave the fish in a cold water bath for a couple of hours to remove the excess salt.
Cook the fillets either by steaming or poaching in a small amount of water covered with a lid. When ready, let it cool, pin bone it and crumble it by hand making sure to keep the skin in the mixture as it contains more collagen, it will helps the mixture to bind together better.
In a processor, blitz the fish with the cream and milk. For the second stage, keep blitzing the mixture while adding the olive oil gradually, as if it was a mayonnaise. The olive oil will not only flavour the baccalà but will also emulsify and whip the fish into a golden mousse, very rich, creamy and delicious. At this stage make sure you taste it and season it and keep it aside. Keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days but make sure it is at room temp when serving.
For the polenta. Double check the packet instruction as not all polenta cooks in the same amount of time. Bring the water to a boil, add the flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute to avoid lumps. When the polenta has come together in a doughy consistency, lower the heat to the minimum, and keep cooking for about 30 minutes covered with a lid. Make sure you stir it with a spatula every now and then.
When the polenta is ready, remove it from the stove, add the butter and grated cheese and mix well. Now season to taste and spread it onto a baking tray to let it set until cold.
When cold and firm, cut the polenta into circles or squares and pan fry it with a drizzle of oil on medium heat until golden on both sides. It should not take more than 3 minutes.
Now you are ready to plate.
Add a nice scoop of creamy baccalà to the golden crispy polenta circles, top it with chopped chives and optionally pickled onion and serve with a cold glass of Prosecco DOC for the perfect Venetian cicchetti!
Recipe by Danilo Cortellini
