Baccalà Sformato Certosina Style, or Sformato di Baccalà alla Certosina: This is an elegant salt cod flan recipe; you can, if you want, eliminate the garlic. To serve 6:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/8 pounds (500 g) soaked baccalà (see instructions if need be)
- 1/2 pound (200 g) fresh porcini, or an ounce (30 g) dried porcini
- 1 pound (500 g) potatoes
- 1 carrot
- 1 medium onion
- 1 rib celery
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 pint (500 ml) milk
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano
- 1 tablespoon bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Boil the potatoes until soft in abundant, lightly salted water.
Rinse the baccalà, put it in a pot with cold water to cover, cover the pot, bring it to a boil, turn off the flame, and let the baccalà sit for ten minutes. Then remove it, strip away the skin and pick out the bones, shred it, and put it in a bowl.
Finely slice the carrot, onion and celery, and sauté them for about ten minutes in a tablespoon of butter. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover, and simmer over a very low flame for about 15 minutes more.
Drain and peel the potatoes, and run them through a potato ricer. Blend the sautéed vegetables and combine them with the potatoes. Add the eggs to the mixture, together with a tablespoon of cheese, season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well.
Finely slice the mushrooms (if you're using dried, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes first).
Put the milk in a pot and bring it to a boil. While it's heating, melt half of the remaining butter in a skillet with the clove of garlic, and when it begins to brown, add the mushrooms. Continue cooking over a medium flame until they're done, then remove them with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. Sift the flour into the pan and stir it about with a spoon, then add the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring briskly to prevent the formation of lumps. You will obtain a creamy sauce; remove it from the fire and stir it into the baccalà. Add the mushrooms too.
Preheat your oven to 360 f (180 C).
Butter a smooth-sided ring mold large enough to hold the ingredients, and line it with the potato mixture, reserving enough of the mixture to be able to cover the ring once you've filled it with the baccalà. Fill the ring with the baccalà, cover the ring with the reserved potatoes, dot the top of the mold with the remaining butter and sprinkle the remaining cheese and the bread crumbs over it, and bake it for about an hour.
Let it rest for 10 minutes upon removing it, and then unmold it and serve it at once.
Rinse the baccalà, put it in a pot with cold water to cover, cover the pot, bring it to a boil, turn off the flame, and let the baccalà sit for ten minutes. Then remove it, strip away the skin and pick out the bones, shred it, and put it in a bowl.
Finely slice the carrot, onion and celery, and sauté them for about ten minutes in a tablespoon of butter. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover, and simmer over a very low flame for about 15 minutes more.
Drain and peel the potatoes, and run them through a potato ricer. Blend the sautéed vegetables and combine them with the potatoes. Add the eggs to the mixture, together with a tablespoon of cheese, season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well.
Finely slice the mushrooms (if you're using dried, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes first).
Put the milk in a pot and bring it to a boil. While it's heating, melt half of the remaining butter in a skillet with the clove of garlic, and when it begins to brown, add the mushrooms. Continue cooking over a medium flame until they're done, then remove them with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. Sift the flour into the pan and stir it about with a spoon, then add the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring briskly to prevent the formation of lumps. You will obtain a creamy sauce; remove it from the fire and stir it into the baccalà. Add the mushrooms too.
Preheat your oven to 360 f (180 C).
Butter a smooth-sided ring mold large enough to hold the ingredients, and line it with the potato mixture, reserving enough of the mixture to be able to cover the ring once you've filled it with the baccalà. Fill the ring with the baccalà, cover the ring with the reserved potatoes, dot the top of the mold with the remaining butter and sprinkle the remaining cheese and the bread crumbs over it, and bake it for about an hour.
Let it rest for 10 minutes upon removing it, and then unmold it and serve it at once.
