Wow, I knew I hadn't posted in a while but it's been since '05.
Anyhoo, our family is Italian and every year we used to have a Christmas get-together at my aunt's parents' house. They always served a dish they called "baccala", which was a sort of codfish fritter. When I asked them how it was made they said they soaked the fish in water to get rid of the salt, then simmered it in water till tender. Then they took about 1" pieces of it, wrapped it in homemade bread dough and deep-fried it. I've never come across a recipe or heard of anyone else knowing what they are.