Salt Cod and Corn Chowder

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Salt cod is seasonally available in the community where I live. It can be purchased November through January, but once the inventory stocked for the holidays is gone, cooks who have come to enjoy this salted treasure are pretty much on their own. I shamefully admit to hoarding salt-dried cod and may be the only cook in my community who buys it in 5 pound lots. While I suspect it is an acquired taste, the Silver Fox and I have come to love several salt cod preparations, and I make it a point to serve them during the holiday season. Our favorite is a dish called brandade du morue which comes from Provence. It is hearty and delicious and an absolutely perfect way to use the flaky and toothsome salt cod. The trouble is, I'm always left with a small portion of unused cod when I make it, so I was delighted when I stumbled on this recipe in a 2010 issue of Fine Cooking magazine. This chowder is a study in simplicity, and were it not for the need to soak the fish for at least a day before serving, it could be on the table in less than an hour. Now, I must warn any of you who have never sampled a dish made with salt cod that it has a unique taste that will carry the dish. Some love it, others don't. This chowder has a thin broth with a consistency like that of an oyster stew, so, if you plan to serve it for dinner, make sure to provide a salad and crisp peasant bread to help extend the meal. Salt pork is another item that can be hard to find outside of large city markets, but blanched bacon can be substituted if needs be. I hope those of you who have a source for salt cod will give this recipe a try. It is simple to prepare and it makes a uniquely flavorful bowl of chowder. Here is how it is made. 

The Good Woman's Codfish Casserole - Meatless Monday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Here's another entrée that works well for those whose convictions lead them to avoid meat, all, or some, of the time. Variations of this casserole have been popular in port cities of the old and new world for centuries. The dish was a staple of peasant kitchens throughout Europe and could be found anywhere codfish was plentiful and good, frugal women had large families to feed. The casserole featured today can be traced to the kitchens of Marseille, where its ingredients were all available for much of the year. In France, cod, called le roi de la mer (king of the sea), was very popular and even now is the country's best selling fish. That is not surprising. The fish is lean and tender and its mild, sweet flavor is a great foil for the stronger flavors with which it is usually paired. While some chopping is involved, this is an easy entree to make and it is almost foolproof. There are, however, a couple of potential pitfalls. This dish gets its flavor and texture from celery and green olives. It is important not to overcook the celery, so it is best to follow the instructions for cooking time. It also helps to keep the celery in pieces no smaller than an inch in length. Olives vary in strength and to prevent their flavor from dominating the dish I've found it helps to quickly "blanch" them. This is done by placing them in water that is brought to a boil, then draining them before they are tossed with other ingredients in the casserole. If you have good knife skills the dish can be table ready in 45 minutes. If you are pokey, as I am, it's best to count on an hour. I serve this dish in shallow soup bowls over mounds of brown or white rice. Please remember, Atlantic cod is on Seafood Watch lists, so try to use a sustainably harvested alternative such as Pacific cod. Here's the recipe for this robust casserole.

Codfish Casserole...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by the World's Healtiest Foods

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced thick
6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 cups celery, cut diagonally about 1 inch long
1 (15- oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 cup green olives cut in fourths
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 lbs thick cod filets, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/8 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1) Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet. Sauté onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, place olives in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and drain.
3) Add garlic and celery and sauté for another minute. Add drained diced tomatoes, green olives and broth. Stir, cover, and simmer on medium-low for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until celery is tender.
4) Place cod, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and chili flakes on top of celery and continue to simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes, or until fish is cooked. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve over brown or white rice. Yield: 4 servings.

Cook's Notes: Use thick cut cod filets. Thin pieces will fall apart. Make sure celery is not cut too small. It is a dominant vegetable in this recipe and should be cut into 1-inch pieces for best flavor. Depending on temperature of your stove, you may want to simmer on medium-low or low. This should be a strong bubbling of sauce without boiling. This will intensify the flavor without cooking the sauce away. If it looks like it's getting dry, reduce the heat. You want a finished dish that has sauce.






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You might also enjoy these recipes:
Moroccan Cod Smothered in Sweet Onions - The Spiced Life
Fresh Cod and Potato Cakes - One Perfect Bite
Pistachio Crusted Cod - Beyond the Peel
Baked Cod Oreganata - One Perfect Bite
Crispy Oven-Fried Cod - Farmgirl Gourmet
Fisherman's Pie - Chow and Chatter
Cod Wrapped in Crispy Potatoes - Kalofagas
West Coast Ling Cod Cakes - Gastronomical Sovereignty
Cod Fritters - Yolanda's Cakes and More
Salt Cod Chowder with Garlic Aioli - Healthy Green Kitchen

Baked Cod Oreganata

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I was surrounded by wonderful cooks as a child, but, surprisingly, my mother was not one of them. She was charming and witty and blessed with a wonderful sense of adventure, but she was not a homemaker. She viewed food as fuel that was to be quickly made and consumed. She had no sense of why anyone might spend hours coaxing a dish to perfection when it would disappear in minutes once set on the table. Mama never realized that those meals made in the neighbor's kitchens fed both body and soul and carried with them a history that tied the old world to the new. Her own childhood, especially the latter parts of it, was a study in the vaguaries of fate. She was a Mayflower Yankee and the child of a lumber baron who was "ruined" - her words not mine - in the Great Depression. These New England Yankees, rich or poor, generally had simple tastes in food. I knew what day of the week it was by what appeared on my mother's dinner table. Sunday was boiled dinner and Wednesday was fish chowder made from dried or frozen cod. Always. There was a time I vowed I'd never eat cod fish again. I was, of course, infirm of purpose. I loved cod cakes and and a well-made fish stew, and when the Silver Fox and I moved to the East coast, I was introduced to the glorious simplicity of baked or broiled cod fillets. I stopped by the fish market today and they had just received a shipment of fresh cod. I brought home enough to make fresh cod cakes which I'll explore later in the week, as well as gorgeous fillets to bake for our dinner tonight. Most of the restaurants that pepper the shore towns of the Jersey coast are Italian, so it should come as no surprise that my fillets are what we call "oreganata". They are lightly covered with crumbs that contain oregano, garlic and cheese and then baked until the fish flakes and the crumbs are a golden brown. Hopefully, those events occur simultaneously. If not, remember God created broilers for a reason. I suspect most of you already have a recipe for baked or broiled cod, but on the odd chance there are still some who need a recipe I thought I'd share mine with you. The recipe defines simplicity and is next to no work to execute. If you can get fresh cod I know you'll enjoy this. Here is my recipe for baked cod oreganata as it's made by almost every restaurant at the Jersey shore.

Baked Cod Oreganata...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 pounds cod fish fillet, cut into 4 (8-ounce) portions
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
Cooking spray

Directions:
1) Rinse fillets under cold water and let drain.
2) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
3) Blend bread crumbs, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cheese and olive oil in a small bowl. Blend until crumb mixture is well-combined and semi-moist.
4) Place cod fillets in prepared pan. Cover generously with crumb mixture. Lightly spray each fillet with nonstick spray.
5) Bake until fish flakes easily and crumbs are lightly brown, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Elegant Baked Fish - Cooking with Libby
Crispy Panko Baked Fish - The Kitchen Witch
Baked Fish with Lemon Butter and Capers - Simply Delicious
Fish Cakes - Felice in the Kitchen
Crispy Baked Fish - Madison House Chef
Provencal Fish - Angie's Recipes
Creamy Baked Fish - The English Kitchen
Easy Baked Tilapia Fillets - Little Corner of Mine
Greek Orange Roughy - Gonna Want Seconds
Baked Cod Provencal - 2 Frugal Foodies
Baked Halibut - Aayi's Recipes Kitchen
Lovely Baked Sea Bass - Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet
Grilled Swordfish - Felice in the Kitchen

Salt Cod and Tomato Stew

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The ghosts of Christmas past sometimes surface unexpectedly. Mine snuck up on me this evening as I was making salt cod stew. Its aroma triggered a reverie that carried me back to the Christmas of my eighth year and "Ma'am's" kitchen where salt cod was being prepared for the Feast of Seven Fishes. This was also the year that St. Joseph, to the great consternation of Salvatore, Ma'am's husband, missed Christmas. Salvatore, a successful and respected contractor, was by training a stone mason. He was also an unrecognized, but talented, sculptor who fashioned one of the most beautiful Nativity scenes I've ever seen. There was, however, a problem this particular Christmas and it concerned the disposition of the young and hapless widow Moriarty. Many of you, especially those raised in the comforts and conformity of suburban homes, will be confounded by the remainder of my tale, but trust me, all of this really did happen "once upon a time in America." The widow Moriarty, left with five children and no visible means of support, wanted to sell her house and move back to the home of her parents. The house was in terrible condition and sat on the market for months. She finally told her sad tale to Ma'am who, always sympathetic, sent her boys to paint and otherwise refresh the house. Ma'am also decided to share Salvatore's St.Joseph with Mrs. Moriarty. Together they dug a hole in the Moriarty's back yard and buried the two foot statue, upside down. Ma'am firmly believed that the saint's intercession would help sell the house. I never understood the upside down part of the equation, but it apparently was a deal breaker and necessary if you wanted Joseph's help. In a normal year this would have caused no problems, but the furies, determined to wreak havoc, paid a visit and brought with them an early and hard freeze. The kind that would keep Joseph in the ground until the spring thaw. Now, this business with the statue transpired without Salvatore's knowledge or consent, so his bad temper was, in retrospect, explainable. He was neither religious nor superstitious and couldn't understand how all of this happened to him and his Joseph at Christmas, a time when folks came from miles around to admire his Nativity. Bent out of shape doesn't begin to explain his unhappiness. Ma'am did a lot of special baking that year and things finally settled down after the holiday. Mrs. Moriarty sold her house and, come spring, St. Joseph was disinterred and not buried again until Salvatore and Ma'am wanted to sell their home. Here is the recipe that triggered today's reverie. It's delicious and I hope you'll give it a try.

Salt Cod and Tomato Stew...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Andy D'Amico

Ingredients:
1 pound dried salt cod
1/2 cup to 1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup 1/4-inch-diced onions
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/2 jalapeño, minced and seeded
2 ounces grappa or dry white wine
2 cups tomatoes, chopped, with their juice
Bouquet garni: parsley stems, thyme, marjoram, fennel fronds, and a bay leaf, tied in cheesecloth or coffee filter
1 cup 1/2-inch-diced bell pepper
1/2 cup pitted Niçoise olives (stuffed Spanish olives may be substituted)
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
Fruity extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Sea-salt crystals and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1) Place dried cod in a bowl, cover with cold water, and soak for at least 48 hours, changing water every 12 hours. Remove cod from water, pat dry with paper towels, and cut into 1-inch pieces.
2) Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a nonstick sauté pan, add cod in small batches, and sauté until lightly browned; set aside and repeat with remaining cod. (If the cod is too wet, it will not brown.)
3) Warm 4 tablespoons oil in a 2-quart casserole; add onions, garlic, and jalapeño; and cook gently without allowing them to color. Pour in grappa, and reduce until liquid has evaporated. Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add browned salt cod and bouquet garni, cover casserole, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Fold in peppers, olives, and capers, and return to a simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Stew should be juicy; if it becomes dry, add a little water or stock. Ladle into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with plenty of black pepper and a few coarse sea-salt crystals. Serve with grilled or crusty fresh bread. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Portuguese Kale and Salt Cod Chowder - Karen Cooks
Baccala alla Napoletana - Memorie di Angelina
Brandade de Morue - 2 Frugal Foodies
Fried Salt Cod with Garlic Sauce - Lisa is Cooking
Salt Cod, Fava Bean and English Pea Salad - Wright Food
Salt Cod with Red Pepper Sauce - Trissalicious