Salted fish, food with a lot of flavour

Recipes with veritable treasures that any Spanish kitchen keeps in its pantry, based on legumes, especially chickpeas, and humble sweets like torrijas (similar to French toast) and buñuelos (fritters), among others.

This time of year may well be when the oldest gastronomic specialities of the Iberian Peninsula, roe, mojama (salted tuna) and salazones in general, become the undisputed protagonists. These foods are obtained after a process of washing, drying and salting the fish. The process reinforces its flavour, giving firmness to the meat as it is preserved. The anchovies, sardines, tuna, bonito (long fin tuna) and the unmissable cod stand out.

Using salted seafood products allows us to enjoy and cook without great complications. Tasting quality, thanks to a unique raw material. The bocartes, the name given to the anchovy in Cantabria when it is in the sea, when processed become boquerones if they are cured in vinegar, or anchoas if they undergo the salting process, conserving their denomination of bocartes if they are used in other preparations.

The anchoa, a delicacy and symbol of the northern cuisine, whose hand  processing gives it the label of luxury product thanks to the work of expert hands, offers endless possibilities to participate in Holy Week recipes.

In the case of the whole sardine, without eviscerating or decapitating, subjected to a process of salting and pressing in brine, it invites you to taste a lunch presenting itself in a coca or bollo (pastry or roll), among many options.

The salted tuna and mojama, with an intense oily fish flavour, are eaten as they are, in thin slices, with a splash of good extra virgin olive oil to soften their texture, and accompanied by fried almonds. They do not need more, although they are also unbeatable substitutes for smoked products. But, above all, they are a perfect appetizer.

In relation to cod, do not confuse the traditional salt-cured cod with salt which is then soaked to rehydrate and desalt it, with the salted cod that is then frozen. The latter is fresh cod injected with light brine and frozen and, therefore, contains a large amount of water. It is also good, especially if we cook it in a sauce in a casserole, but it won't have the flavour that we all associate with traditional cod. A good cod must be ivory white, without bumps or broken pieces. The salt should also have a good colour.

What better opportunity than incorporating new recipes for these dates to the traditional ones while still using the real protagonists, the salted fish.

Here we propose you 3 easy recipes with salted fish:

- Avocado lid with anchovies and black olive vinaigrette

- Mojama salad with pineapple

- Cod in almond sauce

Salted fish menu