Recipe Overview
This elegant appetizer transforms salted cod into a smooth, airy mousse with chickpeas, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Served on soft blanched red onion petals and finished with caviar, it combines classic Italian baccalà character with a polished fine-dining presentation.
Chef Notes
Desalt the cod carefully, keep the mousse very smooth and season only after tasting because both baccalà and caviar contribute salinity. Add the caviar at the last moment.
Connected Experience
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Ingredients
Preserved Salty Cod (Baccalà) — 450 g, desaltedFISH-COD-BAC-002
Boiled Garlic Cloves — 57 g, boiledTC-VEG-GARLIC-001
Extra Virgin Olive Oil — 215 gOIL-0001
Dry Garbanzo Beans — 227 g, cooked until tenderTC-LEG-GARBANZO-001
Potable Water — 1000 ml, for poaching and blendingWATER-POTABLE-001
Caviar — 15 g, keep chilled; add at serviceSEAFOOD-CAVIAR-001
Red Onion Petals — 60 g, blanchedVEG-ONION-RED-001-
Sea Salt
White Pepper
— 2 g, season carefully
SPICE-SALT-WHITEPEPPER-001
Preparation
- Desalt salted cod for 2 to 3 days in cold water, changing the water twice daily and keeping it refrigerated.
- Soak chickpeas overnight and cook until tender. Reserve some cooking liquid.
- Simmer the desalted cod gently for about 15 minutes, cool in the liquid, then flake and remove skin and bones.
- Blend cod, chickpeas, boiled garlic and a little reserved liquid until smooth.
- With the blender running, drizzle in extra virgin olive oil until the mousse is light and creamy.
- Season carefully with sea salt and white pepper, remembering that cod and caviar already contribute salinity.
- Blanch red onion petals briefly to soften, then cool and dry gently.
- Form quenelles or small spoonfuls of mousse onto the onion petals.
- Finish each portion with caviar immediately before service.
Service Suggestions
- Serve as an amuse-bouche or tasting-menu appetizer.
- Keep the mousse smooth and pipeable for clean service.
- Add caviar at the last moment and serve chilled or slightly cool.
Dietary / HACCP Notes
Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free when clean ingredients are used. Contains fish and roe. Keep cod refrigerated during desalting, cool cooked components promptly, and hold caviar under refrigeration until plating.
| Calories | 420 |
| Protein | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 8 g |
| Fat | 38 g |
| Fiber | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 35 mg |
| Sodium | 550 mg |