Brandade de Morue (Cod Cream)

Brandade de Morue or Cod Cream is something I had never made before.  The Spanish and salted cod go back a long time and they still sell these everywhere.  If you're interested in this, I recommend Mark Kurlansky's "Cod" or "Salt - A World History".

However, instead of  making Bacalao a la Crema, I opted for Brandade de Morue, the French version of this.  They are quite similar, but the French version seemed more flavorful.  I also balked at using salted cod as there were warnings galore that my refrigerator would smell fishy.  I bought frozen Bacalao instead.

Anyhow, I started out by defrosting my Bacalao which were left in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, I started cooking.

This is what goes into the cream:  5 garlic cloves, 6 cloves, 1/4 teaspoon thyme and 1 bay leaf:

 Then you add 1 cup cream and simmer it without letting it really boil for 6 - 8 minutes.  

In the mean time, you boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to mash.  I peeled mine, but you can also cook them in their skins and peel them later.

 

You can prepare everything else while the potatoes are boiling.   You simmer the cod, never letting the water come to a boil because this will render them useless for this execution.  Maybe 1 - 2 minutes. Remove the cod from the water and carefully remove the skin and any bones and put it into the cream mixture.

Then you use a hand blender and puree it and it's ready to serve!

I served mine of thinly sliced baguette, laced with garlic oil and toasted in the oven, and garnished them with sprigs of dill!

They're nothing earthshaking, but good nonetheless.  Enjoy!

Brandade de Morue - Easy Version

Ingredients

225 g Frozen Cod
2 Large Potatoes
1 Cup Fresh Cream
5 Garlic Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 Tsp Thyme
4 Whole Cloves
1/8 Tsp White Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
*Original Recipe

Step 1:  Thaw cod.

Step 2:  Simmer cream, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and cloves for 6 - 8 minutes.

Step 3:  Remove bay leaf and discard it.

Step 4:  Cover the cod in water and simmer gently.  Do not let it boil!  You will see bubbles rising gently. Do this for 1 - 2 minutes.

Step 5:  Remove the cod from the water.

Step 6:  Remove the skin and bones from the cod and add this to the cream mixture you made earlier.

Step 7:  Use a hand blender and make a puree!

Step 8:  Let it cool down a bit and then serve on garlic bread and garnish with dill and maybe boiled prawns.