Creamy Baked Salt Cod Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place 2 tablespoons butter in a microwave-safe bowl; melt in microwave on high, about 30 seconds. Stir buttery round crackers into melted butter.
• Place remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a 7x11-inch baking dish. Melt in the preheated oven, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove dish from oven.
• Coat both sides of cod in melted butter in the baking dish.
• Bake cod in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; top with lemon juice, wine, and cracker mixture. Place back in oven and bake until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork, about 10 more minutes.
• Garnish baked cod with parsley and green onion. Serve with lemon wedges.

Steps:

• Soak the cod in cold water to cover for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water occasionally, drain.
• Flake the cod into small pieces, removing any bones. Set aside. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until lightly golden, about 6 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a medium ovenproof casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
• Spread half of the potatoes over the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle half of the salt cod over the potatoes. Place half of the onion mixture over the salt cod. Top the onion mixture with more salt cod. Place another layer of potatoes over the top of the cod. Drizzle the entire pan with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Place on a serving platter. Garnish with the sliced eggs, olives, and parsley.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the flour into a bowl and season. Dip each cod fillet into the flour until evenly coated. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the cod on each side for 2 mins, or until golden brown. Transfer to a roasting tin with the lemon slices on top and nestled in half the thyme. Bake for 10 mins.
• Heat the remaining oil in a pan and fry the leeks and mushrooms for 5 mins over a medium-high heat. Add the orzo and stock, and cook for 10 mins over a high heat, stirring continuously until tender. Stir through the crème fraîche and lemon zest. Season. Serve the orzo with the cod on top, along with the roasted lemon slices.

Steps:

• When the baccalà is sufficiently soaked, cut it into small pieces-6 inches or so-and put them in a saucepan or deep skillet with at least an inch of water to cover. Bring to a boil, set the cover ajar (rest it on a wooden spoon set on the rim of the pan), and cook at a steady bubbling boil for 20 minutes or more, until the cod is easy to flake but still has body and shape. Don't let it start to break apart. Lift it out of the cooking water, and let it drain and cool in a colander. Reserve a cup of the cooking water.
• Meanwhile, rinse the potato but leave it whole and unpeeled. Put it in a small pot covered with cold water. Bring to the boil, and cook steadily until you can easily pierce the potato with a knife blade.
• Let it cool, and peel it.
• Set up the electric mixer and flake all the fish into the bowl. Beat with the paddle at low speed to break the fish up more; drop in the minced garlic, and beat at medium speed while you pour in half the olive oil very gradually in a thin stream, then add the potato and incorporate it; continue beating at low speed as you gradually add the rest of the oil.
• Now raise the speed to high and whip the fish to lighten it.
• Reduce the speed to medium and incorporate the half-and- half gradually, then whip at high speed again. At this point the whipped cod should be smooth and fluffy, almost like mashed potatoes but with texture. If it is very dense, you can thin it with the cooking water (but be careful: too much water will make it too salty).
• Finally, season with pepper and beat it in to blend. If you use a food processor instead of a mixer, follow the same order of additions, and process as needed to form a light, smooth spread. Put the spread in containers and store sealed, in the refrigerator, for up to a week. You can also freeze baccalà mantecato; the texture will not be as creamy, but it will have good flavor and makes a delicious pasta sauce.

Steps:

• Place potatoes in a large pot of well-salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer gently until tender, about 20 minutes.
• While potatoes simmer, trim, bone, and cut the cod fillets across into 2-inch pieces.
• Drain potatoes well and return to the pot. Add a pinch of cayenne, salt, and 4 tablespoons butter. Mash until smooth.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease 2 individual-sized casserole or baking dishes with 1 tablespoon butter. Place both dishes on a baking sheet.
• Transfer about 2/3 cup of the mashed potatoes into each of the prepared dishes. Smooth out evenly and make a shallow depression with a spoon down the middle. Set aside.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a deep 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the shallots in the hot butter with a pinch of salt until they just start to turn golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cream, lemon zest, and a pinch of cayenne, and bring to a simmer. Add cod and wait for the sauce to come back to a simmer. Cook for 1 minute, while basting with the sauce; turn and cook for 1 minute more.
• Pour in lemon juice and turn off the heat; stir for about 30 seconds.
• Divide the pieces of cod over the potato. Add enough sauce to just cover the fish and return the pan to the stove.
• Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce reduces and thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in tarragon.
• Spoon the thickened sauce over the cod. Add a light dusting of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until cod is cooked through and the sauce is browned and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Soak the salt cod in the refrigerator 24 hours (or better yet, 48 hours) in several changes of cold water. (Keep the bowl covered so the whole refrigerator doesn't smell of fish.) Drain the cod, rinse, and drain well again. Remove bones and skin, and with your fingers pull the cod into small shreds; set aside.
• In a large heavy skillet set over very low heat, sauté the onion in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil about 15 minutes until very soft and golden, stirring now and then. Meanwhile, stir-fry the potatoes in the remaining oil in a second large heavy skillet over moderately low heat about 2 minutes until they begin to color; add the water, turn the heat to its lowest point, cover, and cook 15 minutes; set off the heat and reserve, still covered. As soon as the onions are softly golden, mix in the cod and 1/2 cup of the milk, cover, and cook over lowest heat, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
• While the cod cooks, prepare a white sauce: Melt the butter in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat and blend in the flour; add the remaining milk and heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth - about 3 minutes. Blend in the white pepper and reserve.
• When the cod has only 10 minutes more to cook, preheat the oven to very hot (450°F.). When the cod is done, mix in the potatoes, white sauce, and cream. Transfer to a buttered shallow 3-quart earthenware casserole or au gratin pan. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, lower the oven temperature to moderate (350°F.), and bake uncovered 25 minutes longer or until bubbly and tipped with brown. Serve at once with a tartly dressed salad of crisp greens and, to complete the meal, a light dessert of fresh fruit. Portuguese wines available here that would complement the salt cod nicely would be such authoritative dry reds as Dão Grão Vasco or a well aged Colares. The Portuguese always prefer to sip tinto (red wine) with bacalhau, which they consider too rich and heavy for white wines.

Steps:

• Rinse salt cod well and rub off any salt. Soak in 2 quarts cold water. Drain and change water every few hours (an overnight soak without changing is fine). Total soaking time should be at least 8 hours.
• In a medium saucepan, heat milk plus 1 cup water over medium-high heat. Add soaked salt cod, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, allspice berries and clove. Adjust heat to maintain a bare simmer. Cook until fish flakes easily, about 15 minutes. Remove fish and hold at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, in another pot, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add garlic cloves and a good pinch of salt. Drain potatoes when they are soft, about 15 minutes, reserving cooking liquid and garlic.
• Put cooked garlic cloves in a small saucepan and crush with a fork. Add olive oil and heat over a medium flame until quite warm to the touch. Set aside.
• Put potatoes in a large mixing bowl. With your fingers, flake cooked salt cod on top. With a potato masher, roughly blend potatoes and fish. Drizzle in warm garlic oil and mash again. Add cayenne, nutmeg to taste and lemon zest. Stir in ½ cup crème fraîche and beat well to combine. Beat in about ½ cup cooking liquid to lighten mixture so it has the texture of soft mashed potatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning - it will probably need salt and pepper.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a low-sided 1-quart baking dish or pie pan. Transfer brandade mixture to dish and smooth with a spatula. Paint the top with 2 tablespoons crème fraîche, and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Dot top with remaining butter. (May be prepared up to a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator; bring to room temperature before baking.) Bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes.