Changes location and arrives in the scenic Parco Schuster, Roma Baccalà 2024, the cultural and gastronomic event of the capital dedicated to cod and stockfish, which this year takes place from 5 to 8 September. Considering the many visitors who have attended the event over the years, the event lands in the large area in front of the Basilica of San Paolo Fuori Le Mura for a more inclusive edition. The four days will be enlivened by culinary demonstrations and tastings open to the public, until late at night, of over 20 different versions of cod for sale, meetings with Italian and international guests and chefs, and cultural insights.
It starts on Thursday 5 September at 19 pm, in the new Cupola Centrale space, with the opening talk “At the origins of taste” during which the theme of this new edition will be illustrated, dedicated to the meaning of travel as a discovery and opportunity, to arrive at the origins of cod and stockfish. Participants include Johan Vibe, Ambassador of Norway, Bernardo Futscher Pereira, Ambassador of Portugal, Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Rome, Gianluca Gallo, Councilor for Agriculture of the Calabria Region, Fabio Massimo Pallottini, General Director of the Rome Agri-food Center, Flavia Cristaldi, Professor of Territory and Migration at La Sapienza University.
Also in the Central Dome there will be various moments of reflection such as the one in which we will discuss "Proteins, proteins, proteins" with the nutritionist and food expert Antonio Galatà or "Sustainable fishing: what does it mean? with Rossella Muroni, environmentalist and signatory of the Salvamare law and with Raffaella Bullo, professor of Life Sciences.
Then there will be space for the story of inspirations in the kitchen, cooking demonstrations around cod, such as that of Francesca Filippone, a contestant on Masterchef 12, with her Chinese ravioli di baccalà alla livornese, and the recipes and stories of traditional Ciociaria cuisine that will be the focus of a series of show cooking by Francesca Litta of the Alleanza Cuochi Presidi di Slow Food Ciociaria.
Chef Giovanni Milana of Osteria Sora Maria e Arcangelo in Olevano Romano will prepare the Codfish Puttanesca soup with four tomatoes, crispy capers and Gaeta olives; Martina of Giovanbattista will make the typical Lane Pelose pasta from Capranica Prenestina with cod and tomato sauce; Francesca Litta will make the Agostinella corn polenta from Vallepietra with cod and Pontecorvo peppers; Eliana Vigneti Catalani of Antica Osteria di Roma Trastevere Spirito Divino will cook the Codfish flan with bagna cauda gentile.
The tradition of Roman Jewish cuisine and its ancient recipes
Jewish cuisine and its ancient recipes will be discussed with Mino Zarfati of the Casalino Dolce Kosher restaurant; with Tommaso Pennestri and Valeria Payero of Trattoria Pennestri the topic of the modern osteria will be addressed; the most authentic Roman cuisine will be discussed with Emanuele Raelli of Hosteria Amedeo, a restaurant in the Castelli Romani of the 60s; the cuisine of the Roman osteria will be the focus of the meeting with Matteo and Alessandra Ballarini of the Velodromo Vecchio.
Great importance will be given to the cuisine from beyond the border. The story and the execution of Portuguese recipes will be entrusted to the founder and executive chef Fatima De Pereira of the Ristorante I Tre Pupazzi in Rome, who will prepare the Pasteis de bacalhau and the Bacalhau a lusitano. Gen Nishimura, executive chef of the Ristorante Da Francesco in Rome, will talk about the importance of fish in Japanese cuisine during the meeting Baccalà Karaage and will make the Maritozzo of creamed cod and sweet and sour peppers and fillet of cod marinated in mirin, cold chickpeas and roasted porcini mushrooms. There will also be the Norwegian Evening during which the experts of the Norwegian Seafood Council and the personal chef of Johan Vibe, Ambassador of Norway, will reveal the secrets for the preparation of Norwegian cod and will offer a tasting of a dish based on cod and stockfish.
From Norway to Portugal, from Calabria to Japan, a transversal gastronomic fil rouge
For the first time in Rome Baccalà will be present the Cucina di Mercato, more and more places to experience beyond the shopping that offer interesting culinary proposals such as that of YaLuz Cucina di Vicinato del Mercato Garbatella, which will prepare the Baccalà alla Vasco de Gama. There will be no shortage of proposals from the festivals such as the Frittella di baccalà alla Marscianese of the Sagra di Badiola.
This year's novelty concerns the Centrale del Latte di Roma, which debuts in Roma Baccalà as a new partner of the event, thus introducing a new area, dedicated to cod and stockfish recipes where the use of milk becomes essential for the recipe itself, as in the case of creamed cod. Hosted by the Spazio Educa Car, the Centrale del Latte will organize two meetings with tasting to approach a new way of conceiving milk.
The Calabria Region has renewed its participation in the event this year, organizing a dense series of events in its exhibition space in collaboration with intellectuals, Calabrian writers and experts coordinated by Nino Cannatà of the Accademia dello Stoccafisso di Calabria. The unmissable meeting: “Intangible cultural heritage in the world. The World Forum of traditional cuisine, UNESCO heritage for the 150 years of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Italy” will feature Gloria Lopez Morales, President of the Conservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana and Patrizia Nardi, expert in UNESCO nominations of intangible cultural heritage.
Northern Italy and Southern Italy, two ancient culinary traditions compared with show cooking
Finally, do not miss the show cooking that will highlight the traditional, gastronomic and nutraceutical peculiarities of stockfish in a comparison between Southern and Northern Italy, with the participation of the Vulnerable Confraternity of Stofiss dei Frati di Rovereto, chef Marco Divan and chef Enzo Cannatà of the Accademia dello Stoccafisso di Calabria. Two respective chefs in comparison will cook their respective traditional recipes with reference to Northern European cuisine for Trentino and to the Mediterranean Diet for Calabria.
Also noteworthy is the meeting dedicated to the prestigious volume “I Misteri del Ragno, documenti e ipotechi sulla storia del Baccalà” (the most documented investigation into the history of stockfish and cod) by and with Otello Fabris in dialogue with the publisher Nino Cannatà (vice president of the Accademia Stoccafisso di Calabria) with the projection of historical maps, documents and period engravings. Equally interesting will be the presentation of the project “Stockfish Heritage: the transnational network of Academies and Confraternities for the Heritage of Stockfish” with the participation of Andrea Vergari, President of the International Stockfish Society, Otello Fabris, expert in medieval and Renaissance gastronomy.
