Ensalada Malagueña                       Porra Antequerana

Ensalada Malagueña

This is a cold salad which can be eaten at any time of the year. The quantities you use will depend on the number of people to serve. 

Ingredients: potatoes, salt cured cod fish, onion or scallions, oranges, olives and olive oil.

Preparation:  

Soak the cod fish in water, and then bake.* Flake the fish while taking out the bones. 

Boil the potatoes and cut into cubes.

Separate the oranges in sections and remove any seeds.

Finely chop the onions or scallions.

Mix together above ingredients, add olive oil to taste.

Adorn with the olives and refrigerate to cool. Eat cold.

This salad is found in all parts of the province with different names, such as "Ensalada de Mijas". 

*Hints for Preparing Salt Cod

Salt cod (bacalao) is a dry, salt-cured codfish that must be reconstituted before use.

The day or two before the fish is to be used, rinse and cut the fillets into approximately 4-inch pieces or the size called for by your recipe. Place them in a large bowl and cover by at least 2 inches with cold tap water. Soak the codfish, refrigerated, for 16 to 24—even 36 hours if need be—changing the water several times to re-hydrate the fish and remove some of the salt. To prepare a codfish dish for tomorrow night's dinner, for example, start soaking the cod late this afternoon, changing the water 2 to 3 times before you retire for the evening and 4 more times tomorrow before using.

If you are preparing large fillets that have skin and bones, soaking make take as long as 48 hours. Frequent changes of water hasten the process. Smaller pieces of fish (about 1/2 pound) may take 16 to 24 hours or as little as 10 hours if you change the water frequently. Bear in mind soaking times vary not only with the amount of fish but with the degree of saltiness, which varies from batch to batch. The times are given merely as a guide.

Precooking Salt Cod

Some recipes call for the previously soaked salt cod to be precooked or baked before it is used in the dish. One method is to bake the fish in a warm oven until it flakes easily. Another method is described below:

1. Bring a pan of water, large enough to accommodate the fish, to a full boil. Turn off the heat.

2. Rinse the presoaked fish again and add to the pan. Cover and allow to sit for 15 to 30 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish), until the cod is opaque or flakes easily. Remove the smaller pieces as they become opaque.

3. Drain the cod, discard bones and skin, if present, and place the fish in a bowl. Cover with scalded milk. Cover the bowl and let stand for 1 hour. Drain, taste again for salt, and use the fish as needed.

 

Escuela Internacional Central Registration Office C/ Talamanca, 10, 28807 Alcala de Henares (Madrid), España Teléfono: +34 91 883 12 64, Fax: +34 91 883 13 01 e-mail: info@escuelai.com