A few weeks ago I ate some salt cod croquettes at a Pizza place in Washington, and on the back of this had a few enquiries about how to make 'Brandade' - a classic Provencal dish which is also based around salt cod. I've only eaten it twice, once in France and once at home after I found this great recipe in one of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's books. As he says, it "hit many oral pleasure spots" (!). However, it is a cheat version, as it utilises either smoked cod or smoked haddock - far more appropriate for the home cook. Sometimes you shouldn't be too sanctimonious, I mean, how many of us have got 48 hours to soak their salt cod? It's indulgent - save it for a cold evening in front of the fire with a bottle of white and a loved one.
Smoky Cheaty Brandade by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a starter
Ingredients:
500g smoked cod or haddock, poached for five mins in whole milk then left to cool
500g peeled, boiled potatoes, mashed
Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Double Cream
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper
Method:
1. Pick over the poached fish, discard any bones.
2. Sweat your garlic in the olive oil, don't let it colour.
3. Pound the fish with the oil and garlic in a pestle and mortar. Or gently blitz in a food processor.
4. Add 2 tablespoons double cream, and the same amount in olive oil. Repeat blitzing/pounding.
5. Transfer to a bowl and combine with the mashed potatoes.
6. Spread into an ovenproof dish, bake for 15 mins at 190 degrees centigrade, or until piping hot.
7. Serve with good, thin toast and a green salad.
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1 comment:
Nonono, no food procesor to make brandade please. It comes out gummy and elastic. Use a pestle and mortar. I use a huge stone one that I inherited from one of my several French mother in-laws.
It's worth soaking salt cod for 48 hours also.
Speaking of monther in-laws, I now have an English one and consequently spend much time in Englad. Where does one buy good products in England for heaven's sake ??? I tried to make the simplest beuf bourgignon and had to use beef that came in plastic wrap and once put to fry before cooking, it produced as much water as I would use to make soup.
I'm seroious though, the only butcher that I could find was withing the huge supermarket. Is the meat that they sell any better than the plastic shoe sole ?
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