Bacalhau with Pasta

Bacalhau, stockfish or clipfish were the classic fasting foods of the Middle Ages. It used to be dried on a stick by the cliff. Hence the different names. This is sometimes still done today (e.g. in Norway). But salt is normally used to remove the liquid from the cod and to make it storable and, above all, transportable without refrigeration. Bacalhau was one of the main trade goods of the Hanseatic League. Today it is mainly served in Spain, Portugal and Italy. I once ate the variant with pasta in Italy.

Soak the Bacalhau. (If there is no bacalhau available: Cod can be used as an alternative.) This process takes 2 days. It is placed in water and this is changed quite often in the beginning. Without watering the fish would not be edible because it is too salty.

After soaking, cut the fish into pieces and remove the bones that are still there. The advantage of cod: they are quite large and easy to remove. Now chop the onions, garlic and carrots. Add the water for the tagliatelle and bring to a boil.

Fry the onions, carrots and garlic in clarified butter and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the fish pieces and sauté briefly. Deglaze with white wine and let it boil down completely. The fish disintegrates a bit. Pepper. Despite watering, you usually don't need to use salt.

Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle in plenty of salted water according to the instructions on the package until al dente.

Add the sour cream to the fish (you can also use cream) and let it get hot. Add a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid from the pasta. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Put a good trick of butter on top and stir everything carefully. Serve and sprinkle with grated cheese and, if necessary, pepper.