Esqueixada de bacallà (shredded salt cod with oil)
Desalted cod, torn by hand (esqueixar = to shred), mixed with sweet onion, tomato, black olives, and a drizzle of oil and vinegar. A cold, sharp, saline dish where the sea is preserved in salt and awakened by acidity.
Desalted cod, torn by hand (esqueixar = to shred), mixed with sweet onion, tomato, black olives, and a drizzle of oil and vinegar. A cold, sharp, saline dish where the sea is preserved in salt and awakened by acidity.
Back home in Reus, the sea arrived in a barrel of salt: bacallà lasted all winter without spoiling, it was our poor man's fish and good Christian's fish. We soaked it three days, changing the water, then shredded it by hand, never with a knife — you must feel the flesh under your fingers, as you feel stone before carving it. A little oli, a drop of vinagre, the year's onion: that's a vigília meal that doesn't weigh on the soul.
- •Salt cod (bacallà) — a good piece, desalted (preserved protein base)
- •Sweet onion — one, thinly sliced (fresh bite)
- •Ripe tomato — one, cut (acidity and freshness)
- •Black olives (arbequina or from Aragon) — a handful (salty and bitter note)
- •Virgin olive oil — a drizzle (binder, signature)
- •Wine vinegar — a few drops (acidity)
Esqueixada de bacallà (shredded salt cod with oil)
Desalted cod, torn by hand (esqueixar = to shred), mixed with sweet onion, tomato, black olives, and a drizzle of oil and vinegar. A cold, sharp, saline dish where the sea is preserved in salt and awakened by acidity.
Why this dish? Gaudí was born in Reus, in Catalan country, where salt cod from the north was the fish of the interior lands — preserved without ice, feeding lean days of the Christian calendar. It is the quintessential Lenten dish of a man whose faith dictated his plate.
Back home in Reus, the sea arrived in a barrel of salt: bacallà lasted all winter without spoiling, it was our poor man's fish and good Christian's fish. We soaked it three days, changing the water, then shredded it by hand, never with a knife — you must feel the flesh under your fingers, as you feel stone before carving it. A little oli, a drop of vinagre, the year's onion: that's a vigília meal that doesn't weigh on the soul.
Ingredients (period version)
- Salt cod (bacallà) — a good piece, desalted (preserved protein base)
- Sweet onion — one, thinly sliced (fresh bite)
- Ripe tomato — one, cut (acidity and freshness)
- Black olives (arbequina or from Aragon) — a handful (salty and bitter note)
- Virgin olive oil — a drizzle (binder, signature)
- Wine vinegar — a few drops (acidity)
Ingredients
- Salt cod (thick fillet) — 300 g (base, to desalt)
- Sweet onion — 1 small (freshness)
- Ripe tomatoes — 2 (acidity)
- Pitted black olives — 60 g (saltiness)
- Extra virgin olive oil — 4 tbsp (signature)
- Sherry vinegar — 1 tsp (acidity)
- Red bell pepper (optional) — 1/2, in strips (color and sweetness)
Method
- Desalt the cod for 36–48 hours in the refrigerator in a large volume of cold water, changing the water 3–4 times.
- Drain, pat dry, remove skin and bones, then shred the flesh by hand into irregular strips.
- Thinly slice the onion, dice the tomatoes, pit the olives if needed.
- Gently mix cod, onion, tomato, olives (and bell pepper) in a salad bowl.
- Season with olive oil and vinegar, toss, and let rest 30 minutes in the fridge before serving.
How it was made : Without refrigeration, salt cod was for centuries the only fish available far from the coast. It was stored in salt barrels and desalted by long soaking. Esqueixada, served cold and raw, was ideal for hot weather and respected the lean days imposed by the Church.
The contemporary twist : Served in verrines with a fine tomato jelly and a garlic crouton, esqueixada takes on a mosaic look — a nod to the trencadís, those shards of broken ceramic that Gaudí assembled on his facades.
Antoni Gaudí · Charactorium