Toni's baccala

I’m in love with a woman who is not my wife. We met at a friend’s beach house in Rhode Island last summer, and within minutes I knew that I was hooked. We cooked and ate good food together, sat by the sea and watched fishing boats go by, sipped wine outside in the evening near the roaring fire pit and talked easily and without pretense.

My wife knows about all of this. Says she can understand how a man like me could fall so hard and so deeply for a woman like Toni. I married well. If the tables were turned I’m not so certain I could be so understanding.

I received a letter from Toni recently. She told me that she missed seeing me on my last trip down to New Bedford and that she looked forward to the next time we might meet again, perhaps this summer at the shore. In the letter was a recipe that she thought I might like to try preparing, a Portuguese baccala (salt cod) dish that Toni said was among her favorites. It’s made with cauliflower and potatoes and onions, not a way that I have ever had salt cod before. “Let me know if you like it,” she wrote.

I didn’t like it Toni, I loved it.

You too.

See you when the snow melts. I hope.

Toni’s Baccala

Salt Cod with Cauliflower & Potatoes

1 head cauliflower

1 1/2 pounds salt cod (soaked and ready to cook)

1 large onion

2 large potatoes

1-2 quarts chicken stock, as needed

Cut the potatoes into large cubes, partly boil then set aside.

Cut the codfish into cubes around an inch thick.

Break apart the cauliflower head and slice the onion, then saute in olive oil in a large pot for around 10 minutes.

Add 1 quart of stock, the potatoes and the cod. Add more stock as needed.

Simmer for around 30 minutes and serve.