Cod Alessandria style

Given its strategic position on the Salt Road, Alessandria became an important crossroads for merchants which consequently left its significant gastronomic mark on the area... From the late Middle Ages onwards, vast quantities of salted cod made its way along the Salt Roads. Paradoxically, hardly any recipes were written down, as cod was considered a “penitence food” to be eaten at Lent and on Fridays rather than a celebratory meal. It was not until the Eighteenth Century that cod -based recipes began to appear. One of the first was a recipe book called “Cuoco Piemontese” (anonymously written in 1766). It contained no less than twenty four recipes for salted cod. The book itself was aimed at the housewife rather than the Court Chef. None other than Vialardi, who was the Court Chef at the House of Savoy wrote “Both cod and salted cod make for a good family meal”. It should be pointed out that in modern day Piedmont the terms merluzzo (fresh cod) and baccalà (salted cod) are virtually interchangeable. Nowadays, given both the decline in the importance of religion and the astronomic prices this type of fish commands, the use of salted cod in recipes is becoming increasingly less common. The people of Alessandria love to cook their cod in a green parsley sauce or boil it and serve it with potatoes. The most traditional recipe, however, is the one in which the fish is fried and is accompanied by a tomato-based sauce. Should salted cod be used, it must be left to soak for three days, during which period the water should be changed several times. It should also be remembered that the fish will increase by 30% in both weight and volume.