Not Your Nana's Salt Cod

You could easily do at least five of the seven fishes in this meal alone, but I only used salt cod and anchovies in mine. The boys both enjoyed it. I made my own linguine, but I'm sure (almost) no one would object if you used store-bought.

The broccoli was a completely unexpected addition as Mr. ETB brought it home after a quick trip to the store. Broccoli is sort of a luxury item at our house as it is kind of expensive, so obviously I wanted to use it at the freshest point.

I didn't want to spend the entire Christmas Eve standing and cooking, so I prepared the vegetables and made the noodles in stages through the day. That worked well as I still had to give the Christmas pudding a final steaming (so we can just heat and eat tomorrow).


You Will Need:

Salt cod-soaked three days, water changed thrice daily-cut into hunks
Oil for frying
1 egg, beaten
flour
Panko breadcrumbs (matzo meal makes a good substitute too)
1 bunch broccoli, stems peeled and chopped, and steamed until bright green (about four minutes) then refreshed under cold water
Olive oil (about 1/4 cup)
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 bulb garlic cloves, chopped
2 large red peppers, chopped
1 small tin anchovies in oil, drained
1/2 cup green and black olives, sliced
Oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste (You really won't need salt)
Cooked linguine noodles
Fresh breadcrumbs

Steam the broccoli and set aside. In a large pan, heat about half of the olive oil and cook the onions until softened over medium heat (about five minutes). Add the garlic, red peppers, anchovies, olives and spices. Cook over low heat until flavours blend-about ten minutes. Add broccoli and additional oil. Keep warm over low heat.

Pat the salt cod dry and dredge in flour. Dip in beaten egg, and then roll in breadcrumbs. Let sit for a few minutes before frying. Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep frying pan (I used cast iron). Get the oil good and hot and fry pieces of fish no longer than a couple minutes. It should flake easily.

Transfer the fish to the pan with vegetables and toss with oil.

Serve over linguine tossed with fresh breadcrumbs.

Cod Pot Pies With Salt Cod

That's Danny wearing a sweatshirt that has been in the family roughly forty five years-maybe more. It belonged to my older sister before I got it. The front pocket fell off about twenty years ago. The really scary thing is that I can still fit in it, though it is short in the arms. Yikes-ever notice how when you get sick and lose a ton of weight it is all in your shoulders and boobs? I mean, if you have boobs. Man-boobs don't count. Anyway...Danny has inherited the Madison School sweatshirt now.

Danny is also drinking from a jelly glass that I had when I was his age. If you're getting the idea that I tend to take care of my things, and keep them a really long time, you'd be correct.


I made this recipe before HERE. If using salt cod, just make sure to soak it well for a few days, rinsing thrice daily and for heaven's sake...don't add the salt called for in the recipe.

This is such a quick and impressive dish-I don't know why I save it for holidays and special occasions.

Salt Cod

The dried piece waiting to be cut




These two pieces will go a long way. As I'm making cod pot pies, I'm using the tail end and saving the larger pieces for meals where I want the pieces to be served intact.Covered with water and soaking in a bowl in the fridge for three days.



We don't eat much fish, save for special occasions. With the holidays coming up, I bought a large salt cod that can be cut into pieces and re-hydrated as needed. The boys want cod pot pies for Thursday, so I started soaking the pieces today.

The nice thing about salt cod is that it can be kept indefinitely at room temperature. I stick mine in the fridge anyway-just so I know where it is, but salted in the bag it doesn't take up much room at all. The smell seems less intense to me as well-more marine than fishy. I always think it smells like dulse when I pull it from the bag. As it re-hydrates, it can get a bit stinky, so keep a plate over the bowl as it sits. You'll want to re-hydrate it in the fridge.

Keep in mind that it will double in bulk as it re-hydrates, so a little salt cod goes a long way. I like to soak mine three days changing the water thrice daily. You can do less days with more water changes, and depending on what you have in mind, it may need more or less soaking-so check your recipe. I've found that three days is about right for using salt cod as a substitute for fresh in most recipes. Just remember not to add the salt called for in the recipe you are adapting (been there, done that). The fish will still be adequately salted.

So why use salt cod when freezers are available? That's a fair question. It isn't like we need this method of preservation anymore. I suppose it is much like eating beef jerky, or dried fruit. The end result has a different taste, born of necessity, but still enjoyable.

I'll try to remember to post photos over the next few days so you can see how it looks at various stages.

Salt Cod Chowder

If you're looking for thick, white, gravy-like fish chowder, this isn't it. While I've personally never understood the appeal of New England style chowders, there are a heck of a lot of people who do. Bully for them.

This fish chowder is much, much thinner in the liquid, leaving the substantial part of the meal to the fish and vegetables. If you're really hell-bent on having thick chowder, you can remove a cup of the fish stock, cool it slightly and stir-in a few tablespoons of flour. Then, slowly add it back. I realise we all have our food stumbling blocks and if you need your chowder creamy (or your oatmeal salty, or your apple pie with cheese) then who am I to criticise. I will however, try to convince you to at least try the less gloppy version I'm offering here.

You Will Need:

1 large salt cod fillet (reconstitutes to about 2-3 pounds after soaking)

a small amount of oil or butter for a quick saute

4 cups of potatoes, diced (peel if you like)

3 medium onions, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3 carrots, peeled and diced

1 tin of corn, rinsed

4 cups hot water

2 cups boiling water

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons butter (or more)

Salt and pepper to taste

Two days prior to cooking, begin soaking the salt cod in a bowl in the fridge. Change the water at least three times a day.

In a large stock pot, saute the onions, carrots and potatoes in a bit of oil or butter (or both). Add the hot water and cover. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are soft (about 15-20 minutes).

Wash the cod and cut into large chunks. Add to another pot and cover with the boiling water. Place a lid on the pot and cook for about fifteen minutes over very slow heat. The worst thing you can do is overcook it, so a bit under is going to be much, much better than rubbery cod.

Remove the fish from the heat. Drain, reserving liquid. Add the fish to the chowder. Add the milk and cream, the add as much stock as needed (about 2-3 ladles). Adjust salt and pepper. Stir in the butter and taste again, adding additional butter and cream to enrich as needed.

Bring back to a simmer until heated through. Serve warm Brewis optional (Oh for heaven's sake I'm kidding-even if you wanted hardtack, where on earth would you find it?).

Baccala With Red Peppers, Olives and Roasted Potatoes

Salt cod has a bad reputation, largely due to its association as a food of deprivation. With the price of cod these days, even the salted variety, it can now safely be thought of as a luxury food. Still not convinced? Conjures up too many images of boiling cauldrons of chowder ladled over hardtack? Relax, I'm going to show you a recipe that reflects neither Newfoundland thrift, nor the Scandinavian tendency to cook with lye. This is a salt cod recipe you can manage to both prepare, and eat.

Last year (about this time, actually) I made Brandade and used it to spread on toast and as a filling for ravioli. I rather like it, but two people can only eat so much of it-and a little goes a very long way. The baccala however, went fast. This recipe should serve six but instead I had one nugget sized piece of fish and well, we all know who finished the rest of the platter (and it wasn't Danny). That sort of shocked me, though the dish is considerably lighter than brandade. It sort of reminded me of my dad when the family would go out for Friday fish fry (this used to be a big deal in the Midwest-all you can eat fried fish and chips. Now you only see it during Lent, if at all though when I was young (a million years ago) every Friday was meatless for Catholics. So anyway, my dad would tell the waitress to just skip the potatoes and cole slaw and bring him fish three at a time so he wouldn't have to keep flagging her down. Mind you, my dad did pretty hard physical work all day making deliveries so it wasn't like 5,000 calories was just going to sit there (though he was a pretty large man). He could easily down ten pieces of fried fish and then stop for ice-cream on the way home (he used to walk to the corner drugstore every night after dinner for a pint of ice-cream until my mother put a stop to it). What was my point? Oh yeah, if you're serving this to a man with a hearty appetite, don't count on leftovers. I'm sure a woman could devour a pound and a half of salt cod, but I've got to think even if she could, she would have more sense. I'm sure that's why God put women on Earth-to keep men from eating until they throw up-like dogs...except dogs sometimes eat their vomit...but anyway, you get the idea.

You Will Need:

1 1/2 pounds (about) salt cod, soaked two days (with water changed 2-3 times each day)
1 finely chopped carrot
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion,finely minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup marinated red pepper cut into slices
8 oil cured olives
8 large green olives
1/4 cup capers, rinsed well
olive oil for frying
flour for dredging
1 cup chopped parsley
2 cups hot water
pepper to taste

Roasted potatoes or rice to serve with

In a pot of boiling water, cook the baccala for about eight minutes. Drain. Dry well on a towel. Cut into chunks and dredge in flour. Fry in pan with olive oil until browned. Set aside.

In a large, heavy pot cook the carrot, celery and onion in a bit of olive oil until browned. Add the tomato paste, peppers, olives, capers, wine and half a cup of the hot water. Bring to a boil and cook a few minutes to slightly reduce and burn off the alcohol. Add the baccala, cover with sauce and sprinkle with parsley. Slowly add 2-3 ladles of hot water . Cover and simmer very slowly for 1 1/2-2 hours. Keep checking to make sure the sauce doesn't dry out (add more water if needed).

While baccala cooks, either roast potatoes or make rice. A good crusty bread is also nice to soak up sauce.

Before serving, remove to a platter and then heat the remaining liquid at boiling until it thickens. Pour sauce over fish, vegetables and potatoes/rice. Serve hot, and try not to eat a pound and a half of salt cod in one sitting (mama sez even if you don't get a bellyache, it isn't smart).