SALT COD BRANDADE

Cod brandade is a classic Mediterranean dish that can be found across Spain, France, and Italy. However, each region has adapted the recipe to their own tastes and traditions. This is a versatile starter, you can eat it with toasted sourdough bread or crudités or it could be used to stuff piquillo peppers.

READY IN

30 mins (+ soaking time)

COOKING TIME

20 mins

PREP TIME

SERVES

Serves 4-6 as a pintxos

ingredients

300g salt cod fillet

IN STOCK

1 medium onion, peeled and halved

8 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

600ml milk

250g potato, peeled and cubed

2 garlic cloves, peeled

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

IN STOCK

A recipe by Sophie @thecornerplot.

Method

Soak the cod in cold water for 24-48 hours (in the fridge), changing the water two or three times.
Drain the cod and place in a medium saucepan with the onion, peppercorns, bay leaves and milk. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the fish from the milk and set aside to cool. Remove the aromatics and discard. Add the potato and garlic to the hot milk and simmer until soft.
Pull the fish apart into large flakes and remove any bones.
Place the fish, potato, garlic and milk in a food processor and puree to a soft mash. Stir through the olive oil and season with black pepper and salt to taste. Serve on toast, sprinkled with chopped chives and drizzled with a little more olive oil.

Little tip

Taste the cod after soaking to check the level of salt.

Don’t use all the milk at once, add enough to reach a soft mash consistency.

Add another garlic clove if you like it very garlicky.