My very first entry! I decided to take you back in time a bit. This past holiday season was my first away from home, and the first Christmas Eve dinner I hosted. The time of year calls for many culinary traditions, but Bakalar reigns supreme in my opinion.
Oh Bakalar. The word alone sounds like something being hacked from a lung, while the product itself looks like a prehistoric alien fish with lock jaw. The dish; made from dried Norwegian cod fish (above picture) that is boiled for hours, and then added to potatoes, garlic, parsley and lots of olive oil, is a Dalmatian classic!
As a kid I dreaded Bakalar. It meant a stinky house for days. It would start with my grandfather soaking the fish in the garage (of all places) a day before Christmas Eve. The smell of fish and feet would begin to linger into the house within minutes. Friends would come over and I would have no words to explain what was happening and why. Once the finished product ended up on our Christmas Eve dinner table I wanted nothing to do with it. My grandfather and father would pile their plate sky high with Bakalar only. At the time I just didn’t get it.
Fast forward ten some odd years and my mouth waters for the stuff. It is so tasty, and comforting. This past Christmas was the first time I made it. Preparation is as overwhelming as the smell and as ugly as the fish, but with the aid of D’s mom and dad as a kind of "Bakalar Help Line", and my tenacity to turn that alien into something edible, the end result was surprisingly delicious, and it is now one of my most favorite dishes to cook and eat.
Making it brought back so many wonderful memories. Yes wonderful! All the family customs I dreaded and was humiliated by as a kid become special and cherished as an adult. Bakalar is just one of them.
The link to the recipe is below if you dare.
http://www.dubrovnik-excursion.com/restourants/bakalar-(dried-cod)/25
http://www.dubrovnik-excursion.com/restourants/bakalar-(dried-cod)/25
