Baccalà alla
Livornese
Livorno-style salt cod in tomato sauce
Floured salt cod is lightly fried, then settled into a tomato, onion and garlic sauce for a Tuscan fish main.
Flaky cod in tomato & onion sauceSalt cod,
a Livorno tomato sauce.
Baccalà alla livornese pairs salt cod with tomato sauce in the cooking of Livorno, on the Tuscan coast. The fish is soaked to remove excess salt before cooking. Its firm flakes hold their shape as they take on the sweet onion and tomato sauce.
In this preparation, pieces are lightly floured and fried before a short finish in the sauce. Parsley adds freshness at the end. It is a fish main course, with bread often useful for the remaining sauce. The home recipe begins with fully desalted, ready-to-cook cod; buying that prepared fish keeps the starting point clear.
Explore by food: Fish & seafood
Let’s make baccalà alla livornese.
A four-person main using purchased, fully soaked and desalted cod. The listed time starts with that ready-to-cook fish.
Four main portions from 800 g fully soaked, desalted cod, weighed after soaking.
Cooking is elapsed pan time: fry the fish while the tomato sauce simmers.
What you’ll need
- 800 gpurchased fully soaked and desalted salt cod, ready to cook
- 150 gwhite onion, thinly sliced
- 2garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 600 gcanned peeled tomatoes, crushed
- 30 mlextra-virgin olive oil, for the sauce
- 50 gplain flour, for dusting
- 250 mlolive oil, for shallow-frying
- 2 tbspchopped parsley
- to tastefine salt and black pepper
If you buy dry salt cod, follow its supplier’s refrigerated soaking and water-change instructions before starting; this commonly adds 24–48 hours or longer for thick pieces. That separate desalting is not included in the ready-to-cook recipe time. Sauce simmering overlaps the fish preparation and frying.
How to make it
- 01
Make the sauce
Heat the 30 ml oil in a wide saucepan. Soften onion over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, then add garlic for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until saucy rather than watery.
- 02
Prepare the cod
While the sauce simmers, pat the ready-to-cook cod dry. Check for pin bones and remove them. Cut into roughly 6 cm pieces. Dust with flour and shake off the excess.
- 03
Fry in batches
Heat the frying oil in a separate skillet to about 170°C/340°F. Lower in the pieces without crowding and fry for 3–4 minutes per side until lightly golden. Drain on kitchen paper; allow the oil to recover between batches.
- 04
Finish gently
Nestle the fish into the sauce and simmer gently for 5–8 minutes, until its thickest part reaches 63°C/145°F and flakes readily. Avoid stirring the pieces apart. Taste the sauce before adding salt; the cod may provide enough. Add parsley and black pepper, then serve.
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