Klippfisk

Ingredients

Fish

• 800 gklippfisk — bought salt-dried cod
• cold water, for soaking

Bacalao stew

• 200 mlgood olive oil
• 4onions, sliced
• 1 kgwaxy potatoes, sliced 5 mm thick
• 2red peppers, sliced
• 400 gchopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsptomato purée
• 1 tspchilli flakes
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• black pepper

To serve

• crusty bread
• chopped parsley

Directions

1. Cut the klippfisk into large pieces and put it in a big bowl of cold water in the fridge. Soak for 48 hours, changing the water four or five times.
2. Taste a small piece after 36 hours. It should be pleasantly savoury rather than salty — under-soaked bacalao is inedible and no amount of cooking or tomato will rescue it. Thick loin pieces need longer than thin tail.
3. Drain, pat dry, and pull the fish into large flakes, removing any skin and bones.
4. In a wide heavy pot, build the stew in layers: a good glug of olive oil, then onion, potato, pepper, fish, and a spoon of the tomato mixed with the purée, paprika and chilli. Repeat until everything is used, finishing with tomato.
5. Pour over the rest of the olive oil. It looks like a great deal and it is — bacalao is an oil-rich stew, and cutting the oil back gives a thin, watery dish.
6. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and cook very gently for about an hour without stirring. Stirring breaks the potato and the fish into a mush; the layers are meant to stay recognisable.
7. Shake the pot occasionally instead of stirring, and check the potato is tender before serving.
8. Grind over black pepper — no salt at all — scatter with parsley and serve with bread.

Technique

• Soak for two days and taste before you cook. This is the whole difficulty of the dish.
• Never add salt. The fish brings all of it and then some.
• Do not stir. Layer it, simmer it and shake the pot.

Substitutions

• Salt cod from a Portuguese or Spanish shop, which is the same thing.
• Fresh cod for a quicker dish, though it is then not bacalao — add salt and cook far less.
• Fewer chilli flakes for the milder Kristiansund version.

Variations

• The Portuguese bacalhau and Spanish bacalao use the same fish quite differently.
• Klippfisk is also simply boiled and served with potatoes, bacon and mashed swede.

History

Salt-drying was introduced to Norway around 1690 and made Kristiansund rich; the fish is still exported to Portugal, Spain and Brazil.

Frequently asked questions

What is Klippfisk?

Klippfisk is a charcuterie & cured from Norway: salted, dried cod soaked before cooking, the base of bacalao stew. Salt-drying was introduced to Norway around 1690 and made Kristiansund rich; the fish is still exported to Portugal, Spain and Brazil.

How long does Klippfisk take to make?

Klippfisk takes 20 min plus 48 hours soaking of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Klippfisk?

Yes, within limits. Salt cod from a Portuguese or Spanish shop, which is the same thing. Fresh cod for a quicker dish, though it is then not bacalao — add salt and cook far less. Fewer chilli flakes for the milder Kristiansund version.

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

Taste a small piece after 36 hours. It should be pleasantly savoury rather than salty — under-soaked bacalao is inedible and no amount of cooking or tomato will rescue it. Thick loin pieces need longer than thin tail.