La Lama Mountain Ovens
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The best of the recipes, techniques, and methods practiced by our large extended Italian-American family - with emphasis on the legacy handed down to us by the original immigrants.

This is a cookbook-in-process project. If you try any of these recipes please let us know how they turn out, whether or not you had any difficulties, and any clarifying improvements you might recommend to make them foolproof. We will of course acknowledge genuine "test-kitchen" assistance.

Family Secrets #22

Holiday Traditions - Christmas Fish

By CeCe Dove, La Lama Mountain Ovens

Every Christian country in the world digs into the past this month. Whether the tradition is rooted in religion (midnight mass), music (caroling), or decorating (pine everywhere), traditional food is always included.

All cultures have a wealth of dishes that celebrate the season but few are as obsessed with it as we Italians. It doesn't matter that we live in the mountains of the southwest. Somehow I will find a source for two of our traditions that simply make it "feel like Christmas". They are baccalá (dried and salt preserved cod) and smelts (also sold as whitefish). Last year I had my daughter mail me five pounds of baccalá from the Bay Area. If you have ever put your nose to a barrel of preserved fish you can imagine what the delivery man had to say!

Dinner on Christmas Eve in an Italian household consists primarily of fish. There may be side dishes of salads and trays of homemade cookies but meat or poultry are never eaten at this meal. The types and variety of fish will depend on the size of the household and extended family and friends in attendance. It will also depend on your geographical location. Because baccalá is preserved, every region of Italy claims a recipe for it. I think it is a much overlooked dish in the United States, perhaps because of the wealth of fresh fish available. That is really a shame because the unique taste and texture of this fish is unlike any fresh fish. If you wish to add one of our traditions to your own, please try the recipe below. Don't be put off by the first look (or smell) of it. My daughter said she could use it for a baseball bat! When properly prepared it is a delightful dish.

If you live in a metropolitan area, find an old Italian grocery for your source of baccalá. In the San Francisco Bay Area we were able to get it at Ratto's in Oakland, Ca., a fabulous Italian grocery-deli with a huge variety of specialties.

When purchasing preserved fish, keep in mind that it is dehydrated, and during the rehydrating and refreshing prior to the actual cooking it will almost double in weight. The baccalá needs to soak 24 to 36 hours before you cook it. At that point it will look almost like a fresh piece of fish.

During my childhood, the preparation of the smelts for Christmas Eve dinner began the previous day, along with the baccalá. Each little fish had to be eviscerated by hand and discussions were held on whether to leave the head attached or remove it. More often than not, mom won the discussion and the heads were removed. Today smelts are readily available in the freezer section of most good supermarkets, and they are cleaned and pan ready, making the preparation of this delightful treat a rather simple affair.

Baccalá Salad

Serves Six:

• 1 lb. Salt cured baccalâ
• 1 gal. size bag of cleaned assorted lettuce
• 1 medium white onion chopped coarsely
• 1/2 red bell pepper chopped coarsely
• 1/2 green bell pepper chopped coarsely

• 1/3 lb. cured Italian olives
• 1 large ripe tomato diced
• 1/2 cup vinaigrette dressing
• salt and pepper to taste

Place baccalá in a container that permits you to cover it with cold water. Keep cold, either in the refrigerator or a very cold storage area while soaking. Approximately every eight hours drain, rinse, and cover again with cold water. Repeat the process until soaked for a minimum or 24 hours, but not more than 36. When ready to cook, drain and pat dry on paper towels and remove any skin and bones with tweezers.

Step Two: Bake the baccalá

Place the fish in a well oiled shallow baking pan. Sprinkle a little black pepper and add a little water to the pan, cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until the fish is firm. Cooking time should be 20 to 30 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Carefully remove from pan to a plate and let cool to room temperature.

Step Three: Assemble the salad

In a large bowl combine the assorted lettuces, chopped onion, chopped peppers and olives. Add a small amount of the vinaigrette dressing and toss. Distribute the salad mixture evenly on a large serving plate. Cut the room temperature cooked fish in one inch squares and place on top of the salad mixture. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette dressing on the fish. Salt and pepper to taste.

Smelts

Ingredients for batter:

• 3/4 cup sifted all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup half and half
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp, olive oil
• 1/2 tsp, salt
• dash of pepper

Place flour into medium size bowl. Add rest of ingredients and mix well with whisk.

Prepare Smelts

Step One:

Defrost frozen, cleaned smelts and rinse in cool water. Pat dry.

Step Two:

Using a large, heavy bottomed skillet pour in vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Heat oil to 350 - 375 degrees. Place six smelts in batter and move around until well coated. Pick each one up by tail end and shake off excess batter. Place in hot oil. Arrange smelts in skillet in such a manner that they do not touch each other. Fry to golden brown turning once, approximately 4 to 5 minutes per batch.

Step Three:

Remove cooked smelts from skillet and place on brown paper bag to remove excess oil. Salt generously and arrange on platter with lots of lemon wedges.

Some additional tips on the frying of smelts. Use a good grade of vegetable oil or perhaps peanut oil. The fat that you choose must be able to stand up to the heat without breaking down. Make sure the frying temperature is proper before starting the first batch. If the oil is too cool the smelts will be oily, if too hot they will brown prematurely and not cook through. Use the tip of a candy thermometer to check oil temperature. After doing several batches you will be able to adjust the heat up and down on your own. Brown paper bags do a much better job of draining excess oil than paper towels.

Altitude Adjustment: None.