Filetti di Baccalà

Filetti di baccalà is large cod filets that are deep-fried and a staple of contemporary Roman cuisine (via Serious Eats). The cod fritter, which was first a delicacy of Sephardic Jewish street cuisine, is now loved all over Italy and the Mediterranean. Cod fritters are a delectable staple in England when eaten with deep-fried potato slices as fish and chips. Cod fritters can be found in seaside regions from Italy west to Portugal.

According to History Today, the majority of salt cod originates in the frigid Atlantic waters that stretch from North America to the Barents Sea above Norway. For native North Americans, Scandinavians, and early Europeans, cod was a staple food. Viking explorers in the eighth century started air-drying cod for food while traveling across Europe and to North America. Porto, Portugal, developed and became a salt cod trading hub in the 1600s. Eventually, fish gained prominence as a culinary component in the cuisines of Iberia, France, and Italy. The commerce in salt cod and dried cod thereafter started.

In order to reconstitute the fish and get rid of the salty residue, filetti di baccalà employs dried salt cod that has been soaked and rinsed. The fish is delicately cooked till crisp and golden after being dredged in a batter made of flour, white wine, and egg. Filetti of cod is served in Rome with wedges of fresh lemon. Look for it all over Rome in trattorias and food carts.