Baccalà in zimino

Preparing the salt cod

1. The night before, rinse the salt cod and immerse it in a large bowl of water. Soak overnight, changing the water at least once.
2. Remove the cod and pat it dry. Cut it into serving pieces.
3. Lightly flour the salt cod pieces, then shallow fry them in olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.

Prepping the Swiss chard

1. Trim the Swiss chard of its stems, then parboil the leaves in abundant well salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain, rinse quickly under cold water, then pat them dry.
2. Cut the leaves into thin strips.

Preparing the zimino sauce

1. Cut the onion and celery into chunks. Then chop them together with the garlic and parsley until you have a very fine, almost paste-like mince.
2. In a braiser or sauté pan large enough to contain all the cod pieces in a single layer, sauté the mince in abundant olive oil until it is quite soft. (At this point, add a pinch of red pepper flakes if using.)
3. Add the cherry tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes, until they begin to wilt, perhaps 3-5 minutes. Then add the Swiss chard, give it a turn and let it sauté gentle for a minute or two with the tomatoes. Add a ladleful of the chard's cooking water, cover partially and simmer for another 10 minutes or a bit longer, until the chard is fully tender. Add more water from time to time if needed to keep things moist.

Finishing the dish

1. Gingerly lay the cod fish pieces on top of the tomato and Swiss chard. Add another ladleful of water to the pan. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes, until the fish is tender and heated through.
2. Serve right away.