Around the World in Foodventures (Spain: BACALAO AL PIL-PIL)

There are a lot of dishes from Spain that really grabbed me, sounded super delicious, and frankly would have made for a much sexier photo --  but I decided to put a pin in those for later exploration, and instead chose to make Bacalao Al Pil-Pil . . . because I'd never before heard of emulsifying oil with fish gelatine to create a sauce, and that seemed like an intriguing new skill to acquire.

Specifically from Basque Country, Bacalao Al Pil-Pil is unsurprisingly all about salt cod.  And while I can't say it's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted, it is yummy and quite hearty.  I certainly wouldn't reject it if I came across it again.

All you need are four or five ingredients -- depending on whether you use any herbs -- and about a half hour (after 2 full days of soaking the fish to de-salt it, of course) to do a quick bit of chopping then babysit a pan.

With a bit of research, I settled on some combination of these four recipes and YouTube videos:

• https://www.bascofinefoods.com/spanish-recipes/bacalao-pil-pil-recipe/
• https://www.thespruceeats.com/cod-with-pil-pil-sauce-recipe-3083183
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HA_kF-5NsA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BJOUFpJP3Q

This post is part of my project: "Around the World in Foodventures" (I decided I want to expand my culinary horizons even further by making the national dish or a popular recipe, or some signature food or traditional meal from every country in the world. Maybe it'll happen alphabetically, or by region, in random order, or something else. I figure if we can't (yet?) travel everywhere, we at least have the luxury of being able to taste it. It’ll be fun and interesting, but obviously, will take a long time to get through -- as I'll only be doing it once a week or so at most. I am chronicling the journey here.)

“If I’m an advocate of anything, it’s to move…Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food.” --Tony Bourdain