Homemade cod esqueixada. Easy and delicious Catalan recipe

For 4 € 2.4 /pers. 183 kcal/100g

How to make cod esqueixada . One of the simplest and tastiest Catalan recipes, a yummy salad.

The cod esqueixada ( esqueixada de bacallà ) is one of the most typical dishes in Catalan gastronomy. A summer dish, served cold and in which the protagonist is previously desalted cod . It is usually eaten as a salad to share, although it can also be served as a starter on individual plates . 

We have prepared the most basic recipe , which only has tomato, onion, cod, black olives and extra virgin olive oil . Esqueixada usually also contains red pepper and green pepper, although many people do not like to eat it raw or find it indigestible. If we prefer to also use pepper, we just have to mix it with the rest of the ingredients. And if we want to transform our esqueixada into empedrat – another typical Catalan dish – we would have to add white beans and boiled egg .  

In ” El Corpus de la Cuina Catalana ” (compilation of Catalan gastronomic heritage), esqueixada appears as one of the star dishes, and we have followed all its recommendations. With which you will find an authentic Catalan esqueixada so that your mother-in-law or father-in-law cannot say anything to you, a delicious word.

Preparation of cod

1. Once the cod is desalted (we can do it at home or buy it already desalted) we crumble it with our hands, pinching with our fingers so that they come out more or less equal. If esqueixar means crumbling the cod, the logical thing is that when we are going to plate it it should be well crumbled, without any bones and skin.
2. The pieces of cod should be more or less regular. When we crumble them with our fingers, I recommend that you do it under the running tap and then let it hydrate for a few hours in the refrigerator, changing the water a couple of times, to avoid a high salt level.

Preparation of cod esqueixada

1. We continue with the recipe, we cut the onion into very small pieces. We cut the tomatoes into small pieces as well.
2. In a bowl we mix the cod, tomato and onion. We add a good splash of extra virgin olive oil. We mix very well with a spoon
3. We keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. We transfer the esqueixada to a large plate or platter. We decorate with black olives to taste. And we coat it with a little more extra virgin olive oil.
4. I recommend finishing with a touch of freshly ground black pepper to enhance the aromas of the esqueixada, although it is optional, especially if the little ones at home are going to eat it, as it gives a spicy touch to the recipe.
5. The esqueixada has to be very cold before serving, so we have to prepare it a little in advance and leave it in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. This recipe is perfect for summer, in addition to being fresh, it is very healthy and delicious.

If even with the video and the text recipe you are not clear, I leave you a step by step in photos of this recipe for cod and tomato esqueixada   so that it works out for you yes or yes. Don’t hesitate, follow these photos.

Tips for a perfect cod esqueixada

• This dish is so simple that few tricks can be given. Very important are some tomatoes from the garden, very beautiful, ripe and with a lot of meat. The rest of the ingredients are also of quality.
• We should not use fresh cod that has been injected with salt water to simulate the salting point of traditional salt curing. Buy salted and cured cod, you can find it already desalted which saves a lot of time, but if we desalt the cod ourselves the result will be even better. Of course, it is important to follow the tricks and tips that we already told you a while ago.
• There are several pieces of cod that we can use in this recipe, although the most gelatinous ones, such as the cococha or the tripe. It is best to buy cod loin, which has the richest, tightest part and best withstands the desalting process. It is advisable to use the pieces or crumbles left over from profiling the finest fillets.