Salt cod brandade

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 4 people, you will need:

• 1 400 g salt-cod
• 2 300 g potatoes
• 3 70 g shallot
• 4 80 ml olive oil
• 5 parsley
• 6 salt
• 7 pepper
• Total weight: 850 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
55 min.	40 min.	1 hour 35 min.

Step by step recipe

• 1: The day before, desalt 400 g salt-cod by soaking in several changes of cold water.
  On the day, cook the cod by placing in cold water and bringing this up to a gentle simmer. A good way to be sure it is properly cooked is to measure the temperature in the centre. As soon as the fish reaches 140°F (60°C), it is cooked.
  Set aside.
• 2: Put the potatoes straight into the cooking water from the cod and boil until soft.
  Set aside.
• 3: Prepare and chop 70 g shallot.
• 4: Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a frying pan on medium heat. When hot, add the shallot, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes without colouring.
• 5: Break the cod into flakes, discarding the skin and bones.
  Peel the potatoes and chop into small pieces.
• 6: Put the cod and shallots into a food-processor bowl.
• 7: Add the potatoes and blend (using the blender blade) while adding the olive oil in a thin stream, until the mixture becomes a thick purée.
• 8: Add the parsley at the end.
  Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
• 9: Spread the brandade purée in a gratin dish. You can comb the top with a fork to make it more attractive.
• 10: Bake for about 30 minutes until nicely browned.
• 11: Your brandade is ready. You can serve it with a mixed green salad or just corn salad and a good french dressing (vinaigrette).
• 12: Another way of cooking/serving: as pan-fried fish cakes.
  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan on high heat. Arrange tart/dessert rings in the pan.
• 13: Fill the rings with the brandade purée, pressing the mixture down gently.
  Leave the bottom to brown before removing the rings...
• 14: ...then turn the cakes over to brown on the other side.
  Serve one fish cake per person, with salad (for example, like the earlier version).

Remarks

Translator's note: cod in French is "le cabillaud" when fresh, "la morue" when dried and salted.
If many people do not realise that it is one and the same fish, they all seem to have their own favourite tips for desalting their "morue": some suggest leaving the fish all day in the toilet cistern, which should be flushed at regular intervals...

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