Esgarraet, a Valencian salad with cod and roast pepper

We are back with yet another fresh salad recipe. Like always, it’s really easy to make, so everyone can get a taste of Spanish cuisine. This traditional Valencian dish is similar to the zorognollo from Extremadura, the main difference being that the esgarraet includes codfish. The name of the dish comes from the verb “esgarrar”, meaning something like “to cripple”, since the fish must be crumbled or teared apart with the fingers. Before we start, it must be noted that one should prepare this recipe a day prior to eating it.

Ingredients

5 large red peppers

1 garlic clove

150g unsalted cod

About 50ml olive oil

4 boiled eggs (1 per person)

Salt

Directions

The first step is to roast the peppers and the garlic. It won’t be necessary to chop them yet. After you preheat the oven at 180 degrees (Celsius) for 50 minutes, wash them and roast them with a pinch of salt and olive oil. You can flip them from time to time to make sure all sides are well cooked.

When the peppers are roasted enough, take them out of the oven and let them cool covered with kitchen foil. Then peel them ant remove the seeds. Cut them into strips. We will take 5 or 6 garlic cloves for later. We can use the rest of them to make garlic aioli.

To desalinate the cod, the most common practice is to rinse it and put it in the fridge, in a container full of cold water, for 24 hours. Once unsalted, crumble it thoroughly with your own hands, making sure there are no fishbones left.

Take the roasted garlic cloves and crush them with a fork and a pinch of salt. Add some olive oil and mix it. To end with, add the peppers and the cod. Mix it well and add salt if needed.

Let it rest in the fridge all night. Before we serve it, decorate each plate with a boiled egg that has been cut into quarters.

A red pepper dish on a white plate, with some bread on the side

Esgarraet. | Shutterstock


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