Summer equals vacation, friends, simplicity, slowness.
Instead of the usual dinner, an aperitif in the garden or on the terrace with chilly wine, perhaps sparkling, and a few good things to nibble. Children running around and it doesn’t matter if for once they won’t eat as much or they will do it with their hands.
Time passes and it doesn’t matter. It will be the moonlight to remind you that it’s time to say goodbye.
Today I share a recipe suitable for those evenings, when you want to prepare just one good thing and buy the rest (or ask friends to bring something). When you want to complete your dish, pull behind the kitchen door, join the others and forget about everything else.
Cod fritters (frisceu di baccalà)
Ingredients
- 700 g (1,5 lb) of salted cod already deslated
- 200 g (1 1/2 cup) of all purpose flour
- 6 g (1 teaspoon) of brewer’s yeast or 3 g (1/2 teaspoon) of active dry yeast
- cold sparkling water
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 heaping tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
- Peanut oil for frying
Instructions
- Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in a little warm water (about 50 ml).
- In a bowl pour the flour, salt, chopped parsley, the dissolved yeast and begin to mix all the ingredients by adding the sparkling water a little at a time, until you get a smooth and consistent batter, fluid but not liquid, like polenta, and without lumps.
- Let the batter rest at room temperature, covered with a plate, for half an hour.
- Meanwhile, rinse the cod, dry it well and cut it into pieces of about 1 inch per side.
- Heat the peanut oil for frying in a pan with high sides.
- As soon as the batter is ready, pass the pieces of cod in it, covering them evenly and fry them in boiling oil until golden brown.
- Drain on absorbent paper and serve while still hot.
A couple of tips:
If you want to serve a perfect aperitivo Italian Riviera style and prepare Cod fritters (frisceu di baccalà) your beverages must be a chilly Italian Riviera white wine. You can opt for a Vermentino or for a Pigato. If you live in Genoa or in the nearby you can also try an historic local wine such as Bianchetta Genovese.
Cod fritters, or friscéu di baccalà, are a great classic of Genoese street food. My recipe is designed to be served in small bites, which you can easily eat with your hands, even as an aperitif. In the fried food shops and typical restaurants of the city, on the other hand, you will find cod fritters in king size version that are worth a portion of fish (see picture below).
If you want to try them to take away in Genoa, I suggest you go and buy them from Friggitoria Carega, in Sottoripa, one of the oldest fryers in the city.
For a brief history on the use of cod fish in the Italian Riviera cuisine you can have a look at my post with the recipe of “Ligurian stockfish stew”.
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