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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Møre e Romsdal
Stew of klippfisk, the air-dried, salted cod, with tomato, potato, onion, pepper and olive oil. The recipe reached the coast of Møre og Romsdal through the cod trade with Spain and Portugal, and it is a festive dish in Kristiansund and Ålesund.
Traditional dish from Møre e Romsdal
Also known as: klippfiskbacalao, bacalao fra Kristiansund
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Bacalao — Møre e Romsdal, Norway
In Norway, bacalao is the name of a stew made with klippfisk, the cod, or another white fish that has been salted and air-dried. The word comes from Spanish and Portuguese, and the history of the dish is the history of trade: Norwegian merchants exported klippfisk to southern Europe and brought back spices, olive oil and the idea of cooking the fish with tomato.
Two towns on the coast of Møre og Romsdal grew because of that trade. Kristiansund promotes itself as the klippfisk town, has the Norwegian Klippfisk Museum and a sculpture honoring the women who dried fish on the rocks of the harbor. Ålesund also owes much to klippfisk, and its restaurants serve several versions of the dish.
Preparation starts a day or two earlier: the klippfisk soaks in cold water, changed several times, to remove the salt. Then it is cut into pieces and layered with potato and onion, covered with tomato and olive oil and seasoned with pepper, garlic and bay leaf. It cooks slowly, for about an hour.
The tomato version is the most common in Norway, but every household has its own, with more or less pepper, olives or bell pepper. Bacalao is served on festive occasions and is closely associated with the coast of Møre. Kristiansund dedicates an annual festival to klippfisk.
Møre e Romsdal
Dish of the klippfisk towns on the coast of Møre og Romsdal, Kristiansund and Ålesund.
Desalted klippfisk, potato, onion, tomato, olive oil, pepper, garlic and bay leaf; sometimes olives and bell pepper.
Hot, served straight from the pot, on its own or with fresh bread.
Festivals and family gatherings on the coast of Møre; year-round in the restaurants of Kristiansund and Ålesund.
Your questions
A stew of klippfisk, dried and salted cod, with potato, onion, tomato, olive oil and pepper.
Because the recipe came from the klippfisk trade with Spain and Portugal; bacalao means cod in Spanish.
On the coast of Møre og Romsdal, especially in Kristiansund and Ålesund, towns that grew up with the klippfisk trade.
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