Learn how to cook Stanley Tucci's cod recipe that moved Robert Downey Jr. to tears

Being it from Florence or from Livorno, in my take on this recipe baccalà is first fried with thick slices of potatoes, then stewed in a rich tomato sauce.

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Everything started with a video that Robert Downey Jr. posted on Instagram. He was moved to tears by Stanley Tucci’s food (who wouldn't, after all?) - imagine all the cast from Oppenheimer invited to Casa Tucci for dinner. Even though I’ve been loving Robert Downey Jr. since before he was Ironman, and even though Stanley Tucci is a charming storyteller, in that gathering of famous people I would die to meet Felicity Blunt, Stanley Tucci’s wife and sister to Emily Blunt, but also a celebrated literary agent and one of the hosts of one of my favourite podcasts ever, Fortnum’s Hungry Minds.

But back to that video. You can catch just a quick glimpse of what Stanley Tucci is cooking, but that was enough to make me curious. Soon after, I noticed a similar video on Stanley Tucci’s profile.

Stanley Tucci shows four pans where he is cooking Cod alla Livornese: capers, fresh tomatoes, onions, a little bit f garlic, green olives, black olives…

Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci on Instagram: “Dinner for @robertdowneyjr + 11 more!”

July 15, 2023

As fate would have it, I had scheduled a recipe for the very same baccalà here in the newsletter for today! So if you want to read further, you’ll find my own take on baccalà/cod alla livornese.

Let’s talk about the name, first.

In Tuscany, a recipe for baccalà—dried salted cod—cooked in tomato sauce can be interchangeably named alla Fiorentina (made in the Florentine style), alla Livornese (made as they would do in Livorno), or even alla Pisana, so made following the Pisa’s fashion.

According to Paolo Petroni, my reference food writer and cookbook author when it comes to Tuscan cuisine, it is basically the same recipe. What can vary is the use of onion instead of garlic, or if you’ll be keeping the cod’s skin or not (my advice is: keep it! it’s easier to fry it).

RECIPE. Baccalà alla Fiorentina - Dried cod stewed in tomato sauce

Baccalà alla fiorentina is best made with fresh tomatoes, but when not in season you can easily substitute them with good canned peeled tomatoes. Avoid tomato purée or passata, as they would miss some of the texture otherwise provided by the hand-crushed tomatoes.

Read the family story of this recipe on the blog.

Kitchen Notes 

How to prepare and soak baccalà.

Soak the salted cod in a large bowl of water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Replace the water at least twice a day to desalt the cod. Remember to be very careful with salt when cooking with the baccalà, as it might already be very salty on its own if not properly treated. The following recipe could also be done with stoccafisso, or fresh cod.

How to peel tomatoes.

Rinse the tomatoes and with the tip of a knife cut an “x” at the base of each tomato. Plunge the tomatoes into a pot of boiling water. Cook them just until the skin begins to peel: usually, a couple of minutes are enough. Drain them and immediately plunge them into a bowl of iced water, then peel the tomatoes, discarding the skins. Crush them and use them in the following recipe.

The texture of my dreams

SERVES 4

• 450 grams dried salted cod, already prepared for cooking (see headnote)

• 2 medium potatoes

• 3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

• 1 rosemary sprig

• ½ cup all-purpose flour

• 450 grams ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped (see headnote)

• ½ red onion, thinly sliced

• ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• Fine sea salt

• Finely chopped fresh parsley

Cut the baccalà into 5cm-long pieces. Pat them dry with some kitchen paper and flour them on both sides. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 5mm thick slices, then flour them, too.

Pour ⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil into a large pan, add 2 garlic cloves and the rosemary spring, then heat on medium flame. Arrange a plate lined with kitchen paper next to the pan.

When the garlic starts to sizzle, gently place the baccalà into the pan and fry for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, until golden. Gently remove the baccalà from the pan and place it onto the prepared dish. Now fry the potatoes, about 5 minutes per side, until cooked through and golden. Transfer the fried potatoes to the prepared plate, too.

You might find yourself with just a little bit of oil left in the pan. Discard the rosemary and the garlic and, when the pan is not hot anymore, wipe it clean with some kitchen paper. You’ll be able to use it to cook the tomato sauce now and you’ll save a pan.

Now prepare the tomato sauce. Pour the remaining olive oil into a large pan, add the thinly sliced onion and the last clove of garlic. Season with a generous pinch of salt: this will help you cook the onion and prevent it from burning. Cook the onion on medium-low flame for about 10 minutes, until soft and translucent.

Add the chopped, crushed tomatoes into the pan and cook for 10 minutes, until they collapse into a sauce. Taste and adjust with salt: you want the sauce to be slightly under-seasoned, as usually, the cod is quite salty on its own.

Add the cod and potatoes back into the pan, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, so that all the flavours will be mixed together. Taste for the last time and see if you might need a final sprinkle of salt. Sprinkle with some finely chopped parsley and serve hot.

Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days. Gently reheat before serving, even though I must confess I also like baccalà alla fiorentina, straight from the fridge.

If you make this recipe, share it via email and send me a picture at juls@julskitchen.com, or on Social Media using the hashtags #myseasonaltable #julskitchen and #lettersfromtuscany, and tag @julskitchen

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Two recipes with cod from Cucina Povera

More recipes…

• In Cucina Povera, you can find two recipes with cod. Brandacujun, a potato and dried stockfish from Liguria, page 122, and Baccalà al forno con patate, baked salt cod from Basilicata, page 137.

• In the blog archive, you can find another baccalà recipe from Livorno, a sweet and sour salted cod. This recipe perfectly represents the Livornese cuisine, made of poor fish, tomato paste and enlivening influences brought by other cultures, all welcomed and absorbed by a town which is not just a melting pot, but a pot of steaming cacciucco.

• If you like this recipe, I’m sure you will love also my recipe for Sicilian Swordfish, from the newsletter archive. Tasty, punchy, a concentrate of Mediterranean flavours, this recipe for swordfish with tomato sauce, olives, pine nuts, and capers is a winner for a weeknight dinner.

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