Looking to get into the festive Easter spirit with a typical Hvar dish? Why not try some bakalar on Good Friday?
There are some interesting culinary connections emerging between Norway and Hvar, of which more shortly, but the oldest dining connection between the two is dried cod fish, known as bakalar, which has been imported from Norway into Croatia for a long time. While it is better known as a traditional Dalmatian dish before Christmas (see the Hvar Restaurant Association event in the video below), it is also popular as a fish option on Good Friday.
Here is how you make it – patience required!
1 medium size bakalar (dried cod)
1 lb of potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
1 cup of virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Soak the bakalar in cold water for 48 hours, changing the water every eight hours. Peel the skin off and flake the fish. Remove the bones and the brown gut section.
Cook the bakalar in water in a large pot for 2-3 hours over a medium heat. Cook potatoes separately. Drain both well.
Place both into a large bowl and add parsley, salt, pepper, oil and garlic and mix until the dish is almost a paste containing lumps of potato.
