Baccalà mantecato
Venice's whipped stockfish: dried cod soaked for days, poached and beaten with olive oil and garlic into a fluffy cream, served on grilled polenta.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 15 min
- Rest
- 48 hr
- Total
- 49 hr 45 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Baccalà mantecato is dried cod beaten with olive oil until it turns into a pale, fluffy cream. In Venice, 'baccalà' means stockfish: cod dried in the wind of Norway's Lofoten Islands, without salt, not the salt cod the word means elsewhere in Italy. It is hard as wood, so it soaks in cold water for two or three days, changed twice a day, before it is poached until tender. Then, still warm, the flesh is flaked and beaten with a wooden spoon or a mixer while olive oil goes in a thin stream, as for mayonnaise, until it is white, light and creamy. Garlic and parsley go in, with salt and pepper. Done is a spreadable, fluffy cream that tastes gently of the sea, piled on slices of grilled white polenta.
What you'll need
9 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Soak the stockfish in plenty of cold water in the fridge for 2–3 days, changing the water morning and evening, until soft and swollen.
5 min
Step 2
Put it in a pan of cold water with the bay leaf, bring slowly to a simmer and cook 20 minutes. Drain, keeping a cup of the water. Remove skin and bones while warm and flake the flesh.
30 min
Step 3
Beat the warm fish with a wooden spoon, or the paddle of a stand mixer, adding the oil in a thin stream and the garlic, until white and fluffy. Loosen with a spoon of the poaching water if needed. Season and stir in the parsley.
15 min
Step 4
Cook the polenta in salted water until thick, spread it 2 cm deep on a tray and leave to set. Cut into slices and grill or toast in a dry pan. Pile the baccalà on top to serve.
50 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 457 kcal
- Protein
- 32.6 g
- Carbs
- 25.4 g
- Fat
- 25.5 g
- Saturated fat
- 3.6 g
- Fibre
- 2.3 g
- Sugar
- 0.6 g
- Sodium
- 615 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Fish
- Pescatarian
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Stockfish → Salt cod
Easier to find; soak 24–48 hours and expect a denser, saltier cream.
Tips
- Very hard stockfish softens faster if you beat it with a mallet before soaking.
- Use a mild, buttery olive oil: a peppery one overwhelms the fish.
History & culture
It is Venice's classic cicchetto, the small bite eaten standing at the bar of a bacaro with a glass of wine, and part of the Christmas Eve table across the Veneto. Venice's Confraternita del Baccalà Mantecato defends the original: stockfish, oil, garlic, salt, pepper and parsley, and nothing else.
In 1432 the Venetian merchant Pietro Querini was shipwrecked on the Lofoten Islands, where he saw islanders drying cod in the wind, and he brought stockfish back to Venice. It became a staple of the Republic's meatless days, and Venetians kept calling it baccalà even though elsewhere in Italy that word means salt cod.
Traditional — Stockfish, olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper, as the Venetian Confraternita prescribes. No milk, no cream.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Baccalà mantecato take?
49 hr 45 min all in — 30 min prep, 1 hr 15 min cook, 48 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 8 portions. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Fish. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Pescatarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free.
6 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Stockpot, Mixing bowl, Saucepan, Frying pan.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Stockfish → Salt cod. Easier to find; soak 24–48 hours and expect a denser, saltier cream.
Any tips from this recipe?
Very hard stockfish softens faster if you beat it with a mallet before soaking. Use a mild, buttery olive oil: a peppery one overwhelms the fish.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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