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Earthenware pot with golden salt cod and bread meatballs in a light tomato broth with potato, artichoke quarters and peas, and a few pieces of cod

Salt cod meatballs

Salt cod meatballs: Vega Baja stew recipe

Salt cod meatballs with bread, egg and pine nuts in a creamy stew of artichokes, potato and peas, with desalted cod and tender broad beans. Serves 4.

Traditional recipe

Yield
4 servings
Total time
1515 min
Difficulty
Medium
Region
el Baix Segura
Xepep

Salt cod meatballs

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Salt cod meatballs

  • 300 gFlaked desalted salt cod
  • 250 gDay-old bread
  • 2 pcsEggs
  • 1 cloveChopped garlic (for the meatballs)
  • 1 bunchFresh parsley
  • to tastePine nuts

Stew

  • 250 gSalt cod chunks
  • 2 pcsRipe tomatoes, grated
  • 1 pcsOnion
  • 1 pcsHead of garlic
  • 2 leavesBay leaves
  • 4 pcsArtichokes
  • 4 pcsMedium potatoes
  • 150 gCooked peas
  • 500 gTender broad beans, unpeeled
  • to tastePaprika
  • to tasteExtra virgin olive oil
  • to tasteWater or fish stock
  • to tasteSalt

Ingredients

    Recipe PDF (Yield base: 4 servings)

    Steps

    1. 1
      The day before, desalt the cod by soaking it for 24 hours, changing the water twice: the salt cod chunks and the flaked desalted salt cod, if you do not already have them desalted.1440 min
    2. 2
      Grate the day-old bread or crumble it very small. Mix it with the well-flaked desalted salt cod, the chopped garlic, the fresh parsley (leaves only, well washed and chopped), the pine nuts and the eggs.
    3. 3
      Knead well and shape the meatballs.
    4. 4
      In a not-too-large frying pan, with a finger and a half of extra virgin olive oil, brown the meatballs a little and set them aside.
    5. 5
      In the same oil, sear the salt cod chunks briefly on each side, without letting them dry out, and set them aside.
    6. 6
      Strain that oil into the stew pot and add more if it is short. Fry the very finely chopped onion and, when it begins to turn translucent, add the very finely chopped garlic, taken from the head of garlic.
    7. 7
      Add the artichokes, turn them over for 5 minutes and set them aside. Lightly fry the chopped medium potatoes, ideally broken into chunks with the knife rather than sliced so that they release their starch and thicken the stew, with more oil if needed.5 min
    8. 8
      After 5 minutes add the ripe tomatoes, grated, and finish the sofrito. At the end add a pinch of paprika and take the pot off the heat straight away, so that it does not burn and turn bitter.5 min
    9. 9
      Cover the potatoes with water or fish stock (more if needed) and add the bay leaves. Return the artichokes, adjust the salt and cook over a low heat with the pot covered.
    10. 10
      When 7 to 8 minutes are left, add the already cooked peas, then the cod chunks and the meatballs. Finish over a low heat, covered, until it is creamy and a little brothy. Serve with the tender broad beans, unpeeled.8 min
    Flaked salt cod, rustic bread, eggs, parsley and pine nuts in bowls next to a mixing bowl

    When you feel like a warming stew, this Vega Baja stew delivers. It brings together salt cod meatballs, a broth with potato and artichoke, peas and some tender broad beans to go with it. We follow the Convega recipe book, which presents it as the stew “that cuts the cod”, for four people.

    The cod goes in twice

    There is cod in the meatball mixture and cod in the stew. In the mixture goes the flaked desalted cod; in the stew, the salt cod chunks, which are seared briefly in the pan, without letting them dry out, and set aside until the end. The recipe book gives a single desalting instruction: the day before, 24 hours, changing the water twice.

    That “day before” needs to be part of your planning. The recipe book’s header speaks of 75 minutes, a cooking guide that does not separate phase by phase. The desalting is counted apart, and the mixture, the browning of the meatballs and the already cooked peas also need their time, so allow for more than those 75 minutes.

    The mixture: bread, egg and pine nuts

    The mixture starts with day-old bread, grated with the chopper or crumbled very small. It is mixed with the well-flaked cod, the chopped garlic, the parsley (leaves only, well washed and chopped), the pine nuts and the egg. Pepper is optional, a little. It is kneaded well and the meatballs are shaped. As the mixture contains raw egg, the salt is adjusted later, with the stew under way.

    The meatballs are browned a little in a not-too-large frying pan, with a finger and a half of oil, and set aside: they still have to go through the pot. In that same oil the cod chunks are seared and then it is strained and taken to the stew pot, which is where the sofrito begins. This way the whole dish starts from the same oil.

    A stew in layers

    The sofrito begins with the very finely chopped onion and, when it starts to turn translucent, the very finely chopped garlic. The cloves come from the head of garlic in the list; they are not added to the garlic in the mixture. The artichokes are turned over for 5 minutes and set aside. Then the chopped potatoes are lightly fried, ideally broken into chunks rather than sliced, so that they release their starch and thicken the stew, with more oil if needed.

    After 5 minutes the grated tomato goes in, which finishes the sofrito. At the end goes the tip of a teaspoon of paprika, and it is taken off the heat straight away so that it does not burn or turn bitter.

    Add stock to cover the potatoes, or water, and more if needed. The recipe book reminds you that you can boil some white-fish bones beforehand to make that stock. The artichokes go back in, the salt is adjusted and the stew cooks over a low heat with the pot covered. The artichokes are fried first and returned to the pot later: they are the same ones, not added twice.

    The bay leaf is in the list with no moment marked; here it is added with the liquid, as a cook’s judgement.

    Peas, broad beans and the finishing touch

    When 7 to 8 minutes are left, the already cooked peas go in, then the cod chunks and the meatballs. The stew finishes over a low heat, covered, until it is creamy and a little brothy. The tender, unpeeled broad beans are served as an accompaniment.

    The dish contains fish, egg, pine nuts and bread: go over the 14 allergens if you are cooking for guests.

    How to organise the day

    With a desalting the day before, two preparations in the pan and a stew, it pays to organise the work. The day before, the cod. The next day, the mixture and the meatballs first, the cod chunks afterwards in the same oil, and the stew last, with the meatballs and the cod set aside at hand. Have the peas already cooked before you start and keep the meatballs and the chunks on separate plates.

    More recipes from our collection

    If you want to carry on with other traditional recipes, see the borreta alcoyana and the pericana.

    For group meals

    A stew with two preparations and a desalting the day before calls for organisation. If what you have in hand is a group meal, see how we handle local fiestas and ask for a quote with what you need.

    History and variations

    Convega presents it as the Vega Baja del Segura stew “that cuts the cod”, a hearty stew that was very popular in the past during Lent, so as not to eat meat during the forty days before Holy Week. In times of scarcity salt cod was a staple and one of the cheapest foods.

    The 14 allergens

    Tips

    Snap the potatoes into pieces instead of cutting them: this way they release their starch and thicken the stew. Sources

    Sear the cod chunks only briefly on each side in the pan: they must not end up dry. Sources

    Take the sofrito off the heat as soon as you add the paprika, so that it does not burn or turn bitter. Sources

    Pot with golden meatballs, artichoke quarters, chopped potato and peas, with a close-up of the broth

    Salt cod meatballs

    Frequently asked questions

    Which cod goes into each part of the dish?

    Convega uses two: flaked desalted cod, which goes inside the mixture with bread, egg, garlic, parsley and pine nuts, and salt cod chunks, which are seared briefly in the pan and go into the stew almost at the end. The recipe book says to desalt the cod the day before, for 24 hours, changing the water twice.

    Do the broad beans go inside the stew?

    No. In Convega’s recipe book the tender, unpeeled broad beans are the accompaniment the dish is served with, and they do not appear in any step of the pot. The peas do go into the stew, already cooked, when 7 to 8 minutes are left to finish, just before the cod and the meatballs.

    How are the meatballs prepared before the stew?

    Convega asks you to grate the bread or crumble it very small, flake the cod well and knead everything well before shaping the balls. They are browned a little in a not-too-large frying pan, with a finger and a half of oil, and set aside. They go into the pot almost at the end, when only 7 to 8 minutes are left.

    Sources

    Glossary terms

    Recipes