Baccalà alla Vicentina con Polenta

Ingredients

• 600 g stockfish (stoccafisso), dried, beaten firmly with a wooden mallet before soaking to break fibres; soaked in cold running water 3–4 days until fully rehydrated and pliable
• 2 medium white onions, finely sliced
• 6 anchovy fillets, packed in oil or salt-rinsed
• 1 small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 500 ml whole milk, at room temperature
• 500 ml extra-virgin olive oil, the oil is a structural element, not a garnish; equal in volume to the milk
• 60 g Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
• For the polenta bianca
• 300 g white polenta (Biancoperla variety), Vicenza's canonical accompaniment; yellow polenta is not traditional here
• 1.2 litres water, salted

Method

1. 1
   Three to four days before cooking, lay the stockfish on a firm surface and beat it firmly on all sides with a wooden mallet until the fibres begin to soften. Submerge in a vessel of cold running water — or change the water at least four times daily — and soak for 3–4 days. The fish is ready when fully pliable and swollen with no residual stiffness; press the thickest part: it should yield without resistance.
2. 2
   Drain the soaked stockfish, remove skin and any large bones, and cut or tear the flesh into manageable pieces. Spread the sliced onions across the base of a wide, heavy casserole. Lay the anchovy fillets and the chopped parsley over the onions, then arrange the stockfish pieces on top in a single layer.
3. 3
   Scatter the grated Parmigiano evenly over the fish. Pour the milk and the olive oil over everything in equal measure, so that the liquid just covers the fish. The casserole should look generously filled; the oil is not a garnish but a structural component of the final sauce.
4. 4
   Set the casserole over the lowest possible heat — the surface should tremble but never boil. Braise uncovered for 4 to 4.5 hours without stirring at any point. This is where the dish lives or dies: the fish releases gelatin that emulsifies slowly with the milk and oil; a single stir shatters that structure irreparably. The kitchen will fill with a deepening savoury-milky smell; at no point should a rolling boil be heard.
5. 5
   At four hours, assess the preparation by gently tilting the casserole: the liquid should have been almost entirely absorbed and the fish should have collapsed into a thick, creamy, near-spreadable consistency. If the mixture remains chunky and wet, continue for a further 30 minutes. The finished surface should be glossy and cohesive, not soupy.
6. 6
   While the baccalà finishes, bring the salted water to a rolling boil and whisk in the white polenta in a steady stream. Reduce the heat and stir continuously until the polenta pulls cleanly from the sides of the pot and no raw-flour smell remains — 40 to 45 minutes for traditional white polenta. It should mound softly on a spoon before spreading.
7. 7
   Serve the baccalà alla vicentina directly from the casserole, spooned over or alongside the white polenta. Taste before serving: the dish should be intensely savoury, creamy, and rounded — not sharp with salt, since the long soak and the milk will have drawn off the excess.