Personal

Car Stuff

Extras

Cod and Potato purée with Caviar

Manolo de la Osa, chef/owner of the Michelin starred Las Rejas in Las Pedroñeras, Spain, serves this elegant purée in glasses, topped with a spoonful of herring roe. At the restaurant, he makes confit of mushroom oil, which is replaced here with truffle oil. Note that the salt cod needs to be desalted beforehand, which takes 36 to 48 hours. From Spain and The World Table, The Culinary Institute of America.

2½ ounces (70 g) salt cod (see below)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped leeks, white parts only
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup roughly chopped spring onions
2⁄3 cup peeled and roughly chopped starchy potatoes,
such as Yukon gold or russets
4 ounces (115 g) smoked cod
1 quart (1 liter) Chicken Stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon truffle oil
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon Green Parsley Oil (see below)
4 teaspoons herring roe
8 chervil leaves, for garnish

1. Desalt the salt cod: Soak it in fresh cold water, refreigerated, for 36 to 48 hours, changing the water at least four times. Drain well.

2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the leeks, garlic, and spring onions. Sauté until tender, 5 to 8 minutes, and add the potatoes. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes, until coated with oil, then add the smoked and desalted cod. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until well incorporated, making sure not to brown the fish. Add the stock. Simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and add the cream. Let stand for a few minutes, then transfer to a blender (it’s best to do this in batches). Don’t blend hot! Blend the mixture until smooth, about 30 seconds per batch, while drizzling in the truffle oil. Season lightly with salt. Taste and adjust seasoning with the pepper.

4. Serve ½ cup of the purée in small glasses or bowls. Top with a few drops of parsley oil and ½ teaspoon of herring roe. Decorate with chervil and serve.

Tips

If you are unable to source salt cod, you can cure fresh cod yourself: Use ½ cup of coarse sea salt for every pound (450 g) of fresh cod fillets. Remove the pinbones from the fillets using tweezers. Sprinkle some of the salt over the bottom of a baking dish that is large enough to hold all of the fillets in a single layer. Lay the fillets on top and cover with the remaining salt. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. Pour off the water that has accumulated in the baking dish, and if the salt has dissolved, sprinkle on more. Cover and refrigerate for another
12 hours. To cook with it, desalt it as directed above. It will probably only take 12 hours.

Well-prepared salt cod should not taste salty; it should taste cured, like good ham. Its texture should be satiny and moist. If it is dry and cottony, it’s been overcooked. The first step in any salt cod recipe is properly desalting the fish. To desalt, place the cod in a large bowl and cover it by a couple of inches (about 5 cm) with cold water.
Refrigerate for 24 hours, changing the water at least five times during this period. Taste a bit of the fish. If it still tastes salty, soak it for another 24 hours, changing the water five times.

When salt cod is properly cooked, it breaks up into large, slippery, silky flakes with the touch of a fork. To cook salt cod, drain the soaked cod and place it in a wide saucepan. Add water to cover the salt cod by 1 inch (2.5 cm). Over medium-low heat, bring the water to a simmer. It should never boil, or your salt cod will dry out. Once
you see bubbles rising from the bottom of the pan and breaking on the surface, cover tightly, turn off the heat, and allow it to sit for 20 minutes. Drain. The cod should flake apart easily.

Green Parsley Oil

This method of infusing oil works with other leafy herbs such as basil, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Vary the quantity of herbs according to whether they are more or less strongly flavored than parsley. Flavored oils
make a wonderful addition to salad dressings. Makes 2 cups.

2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves or other leafy herbs
2 cups extra virgin olive oil

1. Blanch the parsley leaves in salted water for 10 to 15 seconds. Shock the leaves in a bowl of ice water and drain on paper towels.

2. Combine the blanched herbs with half of the oil in a blender and purée until very fine. Add this purée to the remaining oil. Strain the oil through a cheesecloth, if desired.

3. Transfer the oil to a bottle or other storage container. Store in the refrigerator or a cool, dark area and use within 3 to 4 days.