Bacalao

The story

Bacalao is the Spanish word for cod, but on Norway's northwest coast it names a one-pot stew of klippfisk, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and olive oil. Klippfisk is cod that has been salted and then dried. The name comes from klepp, an Old Norse word for bare rock, because the split fish was once spread out on coastal cliffs to dry. In 1691 the Dutch-born merchant Jappe Ippes received a royal privilege to produce and export it from Fosna, the town now called Kristiansund. Catholic Southern Europe, where fish replaced meat during Lent, became the great market, and in the 1800s Norwegian merchants brought home spices and the idea of bacalao in return. The dish belongs above all to the Møre coast, where the towns of Kristiansund and Ålesund grew up around the klippfisk trade; Kristiansund has a klippfisk museum on Gomalandet. Cod season peaks in winter, when the skrei arrive between January and April for the Lofoten fishery. Norwegians know many versions, but the tomato one is the most popular, and it is often served at celebrations. Start soaking the salt cod two or three days before you plan to cook, and serve the pot with plenty of bread.