Fried salted codfish

  (4 servings/ 30 minutes)

 Utensils
 knife
 bowl
 mezzaluna
 mixer
 mixing bowl
 pan

Ingredients
600 g of salted codfish (already soaked)
100 g of butter
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
8 slices of sandwich bread
1 lemon
30 g of white flour
2 spoonfuls of chopped parsley
Salt

Preparation
• Wash the stockfish already softened, clean and dry.
• Cut the thinnest part of the codfish into small pieces of rectangular shape.
• In a bowl, cream the butter until it is creamy and incorporate 2 spoonfuls of flour, the juice of ½ lemon, 1 egg yolk, 1 pinch of parsley and 1 pinch of salt.
• Spread the mixture on the pieces of codfish.
• Lightly toast the slices of bread without crust and pass them in the mixer.
• Beat the eggs in a bowl.
• Dip the slices of codfish into little flour, then into the egg and sliced bread.
• In a pan , brown the codfish in the butter and continue cooking over a moderate heat .
• Use a spatula and turn the codfish: it should cook about 15 minutes on each side.

Presentation
Serve the stockfish hot accompanied by slices of polenta and a creamy mashed potatoes.

Kids partecipation
Kids could help spreading the mixture on the slices of codfish. Then they can watch, far from the frying pan.

Comments
The codfish is not originating in Italy, but is present in every regional cooking and has become part of the national cuisine.
Stewed salted codfish is the most common cooking for its preparation, but there are recipes in which you consume fried, boiled, lightly cooked or raw in the carpaccio.

Nutritional and cultural curiosities
Codfish is a good source of vitamins, minerals and good fats (omega-3 fatty acids).
Codfish spread  in Italy at the time of the Maritime Republics. Basques, as it seems, discovered that the flesh of codfish, very abundant in the North Sea, could be preserved in salt, allowing to fish on the high seas, and stay far from the coast for many days.

Useful tips
Please note: the codfish should have a tonic appearance  and clear complexion, but if it is too white, it means that has been subjected to bleaching with sulphur dioxide