Baccalà is Italian for dried salt cod, known in English as clipfish. Most baccalà dishes require that the fish be soaked numerous times to remove excess saltiness. It is the same word as Portuguese bacalhau, and Spanish bacalao, which are used in similar dishes.
Disdain its name, the baccalà alla vicentina, a dish originary of Vicenza, is not made from salted cod, but from dried unsalted cod (stockfish) served on or next to polenta.
In Rome, Baccalà alla Romana, is a dish of deep-fried battered salt-cod, which originary from the traditional cuisine of the Jewish quarter.
Because in the old days, in Italian households, this dried out flattened fish was often used as a paddle for spankings, the term baccala was frequently used as a term for spanking; as in, "You better comport yourself or I'll give you baccala!", or "You want me to give you baccala?”
