1~2 lbs. baccala (Cod Fish)
1 large can of crushed Italian Tomatoes
1 large onion
1/2 cup oil
9~12 prunes
Dash of crushed red pepper
Fry onion quartered in oil until tender. Do not brown. Add tomatoes and cook them down a little bit (simmer for a while). Add the baccala. If baccala is purchased in a salted state (hard and stiff), the fish must be soaked in water that is changed every few hours until the cod fish retains its original soft consistency. Cook the baccala until it begins to flake. Add the prunes and simmer until prunes are soft. Add the dash of crushed red pepper to taste.
Tradition: Baccala soup is made with dried Cod Fish that is usually soaked for days to get it moist again. The old timers salted this fish to preserve it (in the days before refrigeration). This recipe is an old Italian traditional dish used for The Vigil of Christmas or Christmas Eve dinner. Italians never ate meat on the Eve of religious holidays such as Christmas, and their Christmas Eve Dinners are all dishes made with different fish . . . cod, smelts, eel, conch, and snails, to name a few.
