Baccalà all'Orvietana
One dish on my list of foods to find in Orvieto was Baccalà all'Orvietana. I came across a recipe for it while planning my trip a few months ago. I made it at home back in July to get an idea of what it was all about and my intention then was to find one in Orvieto and compare.
Again, just like the Etruscans tried to stay self-sufficient on their mountaintop citadel from Roman sieges by having fresh water wells and raising pigeons, later Orvietans found salt-cod to be handy for the same reasons. Only by this time it wasn’t the Romans attacking but other neighboring tribes like the Lombards, Goths, the French — you name it. Salt Cod, though not indigenous to the area, was a non-perishable protein that the Orvietans could store in their zillions of dark caves.
It wasn’t hard to find, Baccalà all'Orvietana. It’s on loads of menus there, as well as a handful of other salt-cod preparations. The main difference between the one I had in Orvieto and the one I made at home was that mine was very scant with the tomato, more of a tomato broth than a sauce, mine also had olives. Other than that they were very similar, although, I dare say I like mine better!
First picture is my own Baccalà all'Orvietana that I made at home before ever going to Orvieto. Second picture is the one I found in Orvieto. Both were tasty but mine looked better.