Barbara Bretton: Wish You Were Here

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The Food Goddess is in the Kitchen! I am delighted beyond words to present my friend, my pal, Kali Amanda Browne (daughter of the beauteous and talented Marie) aka The Food Goddess. Enjoy!

DON'T LET SALT COD SCARE YOU

Salt cod strikes fear in the hearts of those for whom it is not a staple. And that covers a whole mess of people!

Let me assure you that the Portuguese are said to have 365 basic recipes for salt cod, one for each day of the year, and they are not known for any incidence of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes or nasty stuff of that sort.

Most salt cod comes packaged in 16 ounce bags. But in neighborhoods with a large concentration of ethnic groups ranging from Chinese, Scandinavian, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Latin American and some African countries, you might also find large dried, salted pieces.

Salt cod is a different dish compared to fresh cod, but it is far more versatile than it appears to be. There are two things you need to know:

The moment you get it in the house, wash it off in cold water and place it in a container filled with cold water. Change the water a few times in a 24 hour period (and you may do this for a couple of days), keep refrigerated. This will do two things - reconstitute the fillets and take away some of the salt.
To complete rid the fish of the sat content, cover in water in a pot and let boil for approximately ten minutes.

You do not cook the fish in its salt-crusted state; that would be not only revolting but possibly toxic for the sodium content.

Depending on what you ultimately choose to do with the fish, you can use either or both methods. I want to stress that although you can do thing to salted cod that you may not to the fresh variety, the taste remains mellow and somewhat delicate. Cod picks up and absorbs flavors from cooking ingredients without that ÒfishyÓ taste most people abhor. The greatest selling points that you need to consider is that cod is mellow and it is low in fat. Besides, we find that it makes fabulous leftovers

We've fiddled bacalao a la vizcaina, an old Spanish recipe, and often give the leftover a Moroccan Jew treatment or turn it into stew converting it into new and exciting meals.

Make a tomato sauce - we sautŽ onions or shallots, garlic, peppers and capers (or substitute olives: manzanilla for a bold taste, black for a more full flavor) and add whole tomatoes (chopped). You have two choices, if you boil the cod, then you can flake it into the sauce and add stock to thin out the sauce. If you go for the changed water method, you can keep the filets whole, and cut them into bite sized cubes. Dredge in flour and brown in cooking oil - you make season with garlic powder, pepper and herbs (but no salt!). Dried dill, oregano, parsley and basil work very well.

Separate the sauce into three equal portions. For the original sauce, serve over rice.

Add quartered boiled potatoes - or sautéed new potatoes cooked in olive oil and butter and steamed until cooked through (transfer them into the sauce slightly undercook so they are finished off and mesh the other flavors) and create a stew instead. Top with fresh herbs and a dash of olive oil or fresh lemon juice.

For the leftovers, add a can of chickpeas with stock and a little basil and serve with pasta, a sprinkling of fresh black pepper and dash of red wine vinegar.

This keeps well refrigerated and has the grace to get better the longer it sits, all the flavors turning into a delightful medley.

You can email me at kali.templeofdoom@gmail.com.