Stockfish, Dalmatian Style

When I was a child, my mother prepared Stockfish at least once a year, usually on Good Friday. The dish she made was from a recipe that my father knew and liked. My father (see picture below) had lived for some part of his youth (before WW II) in Dalmatia, Croatia and there, Stockfish, coming from Norway, was quite common. It is usually dried and sometimes salted cod, but can also be made from other types of fish. It was introduced to Dalmatia a couple of hundred years ago by the Venetians when they ruled over Dalmatia. Stockfish was a common provision on the Venetian ships. It was light in weight, nutrient, and stayed for long. Still today, one can find (still mostly Norwegian) Stockfish at Markets in Ljubljana or along the Croatian sea coast.

Ingredients

You need the following for 4 to 5 persons (you may vary the amounts of the ingredients according to taste):

·         1 kg Stockfish (dried fish)

·         2 kg Potatoes

·         2 Kg Tomatoes

·         200 ml Olive Oil (or sunflower oil)

·         Salt, Pepper

Preparation

Soak the Stockfish for at least 12 hours in water, better longer (the longer you soak it, the shorter will be the cooking time). Change the water from time to time.

Boil the soaked Stockfish for 2-3  hours in slightly salted water. When it is ready it should fall into flakes but still should have some bite. Clean the Stockfish from bones, skin etc. and cut/tear the meat into small pieces.

Boil the potatoes in their skin until ready.

In a large Iron pot (or any other pot that can stand heat) put one layer of potatoes, skinned and cut into slices. Add salt and pepper. Now put one layer of Stockfish and again add salt and pepper. The last layer is tomatoes, cut into slices and also salted and peppered. Repeat until you used up all potatoes, Stockfish and tomatoes. The last layer should be tomatoes.

In a sauce pan, heat the oil until it starts to smoke. Put the hot oil evenly over the layered potatoes/Stockfish/tomatoes. Immediately serve the Stockfish. Do not mix it. If you prefer the Stockfish warm, you may heat it up in an oven, but only slightly, the tomatoes should not get cooked. It will even taste better the next day.

Bon Appetite!