Stocafi

Ingredients

Fish

• 800 gstockfish (air-dried cod, stoccafisso), sawn into pieces
• Cold water, for soaking and changing daily

Stew

• 100 mlgood olive oil
• 2onions (300 g), finely sliced
• 6garlic cloves, sliced
• 1fennel bulb (200 g), sliced (optional)
• 800 gripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 2 x 400 g tins
• 2 tbsptomato puree
• 150 mldry white wine
• 60 mlmarc, cognac or eau-de-vie
• 150 gsmall black olives (taggiasche or niçoise), stones in
• 2 tbspcapers, rinsed
• 700 gwaxy potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1bay leaf, 3 sprigs thyme, 1 strip of orange peel
• 1dried chilli, crumbled
• Salt and black pepper
• 3 tbspchopped parsley and basil, to finish

Directions

1. Soak the stockfish in a large bowl of cold water in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, changing the water twice a day. Air-dried cod is board-hard and needs far longer than salt cod; it is ready when it is fully pliable, plump and pale, and a corner tastes of fish rather than of salt.
2. Drain, and pull the fish into large pieces, removing skin and any bones and the thin membrane. Keep the pieces big; they shrink and flake as they cook.
3. Warm the olive oil in a wide earthenware or heavy casserole and cook the onion, garlic and fennel gently for 15 minutes until completely soft and just turning gold. This unhurried base is the backbone of the dish.
4. Stir in the tomato puree, fry 2 minutes, then add the wine and let it bubble away for 3 minutes.
5. Add the marc and let it reduce almost to nothing. The spirit is the Monégasque signature in stocafi and gives the sauce its faint sweetness and warmth.
6. Add the tomatoes, orange peel, bay, thyme and chilli, and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes until the sauce has thickened and darkened and the oil is beginning to show at the edges.
7. Slide in the stockfish pieces, spoon the sauce over them, cover, and simmer as gently as the pan will allow for 45 minutes. Do not stir with a spoon; shake the pan instead, or the fish will break into shreds.
8. Add the potatoes and the olives, with a little hot water if the pan looks dry, and cook uncovered for a further 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender and have thickened the sauce.
9. Add the capers in the last 5 minutes, then taste. It will rarely need salt, since the fish and the olives bring their own; grind in plenty of pepper.
10. Rest off the heat for 15 minutes, scatter with parsley and basil, and serve straight from the pot with bread and a glass of the same white wine. It is better still reheated the next day.

Technique

• Stocafi is made with stockfish, unsalted cod dried hard in the wind, not with salt cod. The two are different products and the soaking regimes are not interchangeable; salt cod needs 24–36 hours and stockfish needs the best part of a week.
• Rushing the soak is the classic failure. Under-soaked stockfish stays leathery no matter how long you stew it.
• Never boil the fish once it is in the sauce. A bare shiver keeps the flakes whole; a rolling simmer turns the pot to a puree.
• The Niçois cousin, estocaficada, traditionally includes the dried tripes of the cod and often a handful of small green olives, and Monégasque cooks argue with their neighbours about both.

Substitutions

• No stockfish: salt cod (morue), soaked 36 hours with several water changes, gives a good stew, though the texture is softer and less fibrous.
• No marc: cognac, armagnac or grappa all work; a dry vermouth is a weaker but usable substitute.
• No taggiasche olives: any small, oil-cured black olive will do, but avoid large pitted olives, which turn rubbery.

Variations

• Some Monégasque families add a handful of pine nuts and a few raisins, a Ligurian influence.
• A version without potatoes is served over polenta or with boiled potatoes on the side.
• Stocafi is eaten hot in winter and, in the old town, cold the next day as part of a summer lunch.

History

Dried, salted stockfish, stewed with tomato, olive and herbs into a rich, slow-cooked dish, developed in Monaco reflecting the wider Mediterranean and Ligurian tradition of stockfish cookery, since dried cod was historically imported into Mediterranean ports, including those near Monaco, from Norway and other North Atlantic fishing regions through many centuries of maritime trade. Its long, slow stewing, required to properly rehydrate and soften the very hard, dried fish, reflects a technique shared with related stockfish dishes found across coastal Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean with similar historic dried-fish import traditions. Stocafi remains one of the traditional dishes most specifically associated with authentic Monégasque home cooking, distinct from the more internationally known cuisine of the broader French Riviera.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stocafi?

Stocafi is a main from Monaco: stockfish stewed with tomatoes, olives and brandy. Dried, salted stockfish, stewed with tomato, olive and herbs into a rich, slow-cooked dish, developed in Monaco reflecting the wider Mediterranean and Ligurian tradition of stockfish cookery, since dried cod was historically imported into Mediterranean ports, including those near Monaco, from Norway and other North Atlantic fishing regions through many centuries of maritime trade. Its long, slow stewing, required to properly rehydrate and soften the very hard, dried fish, reflects a technique shared with related stockfish dishes found across coastal Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean with similar historic dried-fish import traditions. Stocafi remains one of the traditional dishes most specifically associated with authentic Monégasque home cooking, distinct from the more internationally known cuisine of the broader French Riviera.

How long does Stocafi take to make?

Stocafi takes 30 min plus 4–5 days soaking of preparation and 1 hr 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Stocafi?

Yes, within limits. No stockfish: salt cod (morue), soaked 36 hours with several water changes, gives a good stew, though the texture is softer and less fibrous. No marc: cognac, armagnac or grappa all work; a dry vermouth is a weaker but usable substitute. No taggiasche olives: any small, oil-cured black olive will do, but avoid large pitted olives, which turn rubbery.

What is the most important thing to get right in Stocafi?

Soak the stockfish in a large bowl of cold water in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, changing the water twice a day. Air-dried cod is board-hard and needs far longer than salt cod; it is ready when it is fully pliable, plump and pale, and a corner tastes of fish rather than of salt.