1 3/4 lb dried codfish
1 flour, for dredging
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, juiced
Directions
Put the cod in a deep dish, add cold water to cover, and let it soak
for 2 days in the refrigerator in order for it to "plump" up and
change the water several times. Rinse and dry the fish and cut it
into 2-inch chunks. Dredge the fish in the flour, shaking off the
excess. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbl of the butter and the olive
oil. Add the fish pieces and brown them well on all sides over
medium-high heat. Sprinkle the fish with the minced garlic and
parsley and stir the mixture gently. Cut the remaining 2 Tbl butter
into bits and add it to the pan. Sprinkle the fish with salt and
pepper and pour over the lemon juice. Serve immediately.
Servings: 4 servings
Baccala Alla Bolognese (Btvc62a) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fish; Fruit; Seafood; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
We are able to follow the history of written recipes way back into the distant past, in truth as far back as the ancient Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. In practice though, generally, these old cookbooks were just primitive hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing food.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to historians is a series of clay tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel `blissful`. Later on, in The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a few documents which described recipes cooked by his fellow Romans. In his scrolls, Apicius recounts how the meals were separated into starters, main meal and dessert, something we still use today. He also recounts how the Roman chefs used a good variety of herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern cooks such as thyme, rue and parsley. As we move on, there are two books which date from the fourteenth century : one book called `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, they have no connection with the indian food that is familiar to us all today, but rather recipes for the types of meals served to the rich people of those days. Later, in the fifteenth century, the Crusaders brought back many new spices and herbs from the holy land, including spices like coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new culinary innovations was responsible for an explosion in recipe manuscripts, most of which are now in private libraries. During the following few hundred years, the powerful families of the West tried to offer the most exotic banquets, and consequentially the best chefs and their collection of recipes were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 19th century that haute cuisine and recipe books became really popular. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, verifying, and publishing popular recipes of the day. By the time we get to the 1900s, recipe books are starting to become popular mostly due to better eduction, people having increased leisure time and having more money. The arrival of television brought us celebrity TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. And that neatly brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing us all to access thousands of recipes such as those found on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Baccala Alla Bolognese (Btvc62a) recipe.
