Bacalao a la Llauna: easy and delicious salt cod

I love this dish at restaurants and assumed it would be difficult to make at home -- wrong! It's quick and easy, and doesn't require exotic ingredients. Except, that is, for the bacalao (salt cod), more below. You only need a few pantry staples, and it comes together in under 30 minutes. The paprika-infused oil on the top of the slightly crusty fish provides an intriguing,, almost smoky complement.

125 g each Bacalao, white beans, seared leeks

I didn't realize until I started looking for recipes that this dish is a Catalan speciality -- I assumed it was available all over Spain. "La Llauna" is the flat metal tray used for baking, here for bacalao, but we've also had snails cooked and served in them: they're cheap and versatile.

In Barcelona, the markets have specialists like Perelló who sell this dehydrated or already soaked and hydrated for you, and I now get their hydrated version to save time; I would not use frozen cod because the amount of water loss during thawing results in a tough piece of fish . Get a boneless cut. It's worth paying more for the thick cuts like loin, rather than thinner filets: it provides better texture and cooks more evenly. As I've written elsewhere, if you get the dehydrated version, rinse it well to remove excess salt, then hydrate over about 3 days, changing the water a couple times a day -- don't go too far or it will be a bit dull, you want a bit of salt, texture, and funk that you won't find in fresh cod.

Basically, you sauté the Bacalao and finish in the oven, topped with a simple sauce of oil, garlic, pimenton, and wine. You can skip my recipe and head straight to Spain On A Fork: he does a great job combining it with traditional white beans in the final baking; he even has a video. Spain in a Pan is very similar, and suggests you can use fresh cod. Cod vendor Bacalao.com mentions that traditionally the flour isn't used but is optional; I think it improves the surface texture. Spanish blog El Forner de Alella is similar to the others (with a helpful video), if you don't trust the English ones. I like the White Beans with this, but you can omit them if you don't like or don't have them. 

This serves 2. Measurements don't need to be exact.

 10 ml    1 Tbs   Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for filming the tray)

300 g    10 oz    Bacalao loins 3-4cm thick, hydrated

 40 ml    2 Tbs   Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for sautéing the Bacalao)

200 g     7 oz    White Beans (in a jar; drained and rinsed)

  4 cloves        Garlic, sliced thinly

  1 g     1 tsp   Pimenton Dulce ("sweet" paprika, not picante)

 10 g     2 Tbs   Flour, for dusting

                  Black Pepper

                  Salt, if the Bacalao is a bit mild

 60 ml  1/4 C     White Wine

                  Parsley, chopped fine (for garnish)

All the ingredients except the Pimenton

Spread the 10 ml Olive Oil in a heat proof tray or casserole (llauna).

If using, drain the White Beans, rinse, and shake off the water, and add to the tray in a single layer.

Cut the Bacalao into two pieces for serving; pat them dry with paper towels.

Mix the Pepper (and Salt if needed) with the Flour.

Lightly dredge the Bacalao in the Flour, coat thoroughly, shake off extra.

Preheat the oven to 200c / 400f with heat from top and bottom if you can.

Heat a large skillet over medium with the 40 ml Olive Oil.

Add the Bacalao to the skillet with the Oil, skin side up.

Sauté 3-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness: you want to develop a light golden crust but you'll finish cooking it through in the oven.

Remove the Bacalao to the tray on top of the optional Beans, skin side down.

There should be a thin film of Oil left in the skillet, remove some if it's too much.

Lower the heat of the skillet and sauté the garlic, stirring often, until fragrant.

Remove from heat and add the Pimenton Dulce and stir quickly -- it becomes acrid if it burns so don't expose it to too much heat.

Add the White Wine and return to the heat for a few minutes to drive off the alcohol and concentrate, then drizzle over the Bacalao in the tray.

Bake the Bacalao in the tray 5 minutes or until barely cooked through; don't overcook it or it will dry out; it should flake into large moist chunks.

Plate each cut of Bacalao with the optional Beans.

Garnish with Parsley.

I cooked the Parsley with the sauce but it muddies the appearance; garnish next time