Yes, we have bought a flat and are renovating it... Can you guess this is going to be our kitchen?
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Busy
This is what has been keeping our minds busy:
Yes, we have bought a flat and are renovating it... Can you guess this is going to be our kitchen?
Yes, we have bought a flat and are renovating it... Can you guess this is going to be our kitchen?
Codfish cakes
The actual name is pastéis de bacalhau, but codfish cakes will have to do as an appropriate translation. It is also hard, if not impossible, to give a very precise recipe for these beauties: you have to look for a certain type of consistency of the batter, and adjust the quantities depending on the size of the eggs and on the quality of the potatoes.
You need to start by soaking around 200 g of cured (salted and dried) codfish. Two days in advance, skin side up, inside the fridge, changing the water twice. Then, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn off the heat, add the cod, cover the pot, and wait around 20 minutes. Remove the cod but reserve the water, you will use it to boil the potatoes. If they are new potatoes, do not remove their skins. Add a slug of olive oil and perhaps a clove of galic, and cook until fork tender. I'd say 3 medium potatoes.
Once the cod is cold enough to handle, remove the skin and the bones. Using your hands, shred the meat trying not to break the fibers of the fish. Reserve.
Peel the potatoes and pass them through a food mill. Add the shredded fish, a finely diced small onion, and finely chopped parsley.
Begin by adding two whole eggs. Then start mashing all this with your hand. Season with salt and white pepper. Be careful not to over-salt. The parsley is important, there should be enough for you to feel its presence when tasting the batter.
Then you will have to judge whether to add another egg, or even two more. You want a thick batter, but not a heavy one.
The next step is to form the cakes and to fry them. You can fry a couple and see if they are coming out light and fluffy, if the salt and other seasonings are ok, and only then proceed with the whole batch.
To form the cakes, use two soup spoons. Dunk them in the hot oil and form a shape that is known as quenelle in French. Fry these quenelles in hot oil until golden.
This is the final result. They should be crisp on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside, the fiber of the fish holding everything together.
You need to start by soaking around 200 g of cured (salted and dried) codfish. Two days in advance, skin side up, inside the fridge, changing the water twice. Then, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn off the heat, add the cod, cover the pot, and wait around 20 minutes. Remove the cod but reserve the water, you will use it to boil the potatoes. If they are new potatoes, do not remove their skins. Add a slug of olive oil and perhaps a clove of galic, and cook until fork tender. I'd say 3 medium potatoes.
Once the cod is cold enough to handle, remove the skin and the bones. Using your hands, shred the meat trying not to break the fibers of the fish. Reserve.
Peel the potatoes and pass them through a food mill. Add the shredded fish, a finely diced small onion, and finely chopped parsley.
Begin by adding two whole eggs. Then start mashing all this with your hand. Season with salt and white pepper. Be careful not to over-salt. The parsley is important, there should be enough for you to feel its presence when tasting the batter.
Then you will have to judge whether to add another egg, or even two more. You want a thick batter, but not a heavy one.
The next step is to form the cakes and to fry them. You can fry a couple and see if they are coming out light and fluffy, if the salt and other seasonings are ok, and only then proceed with the whole batch.
To form the cakes, use two soup spoons. Dunk them in the hot oil and form a shape that is known as quenelle in French. Fry these quenelles in hot oil until golden.
This is the final result. They should be crisp on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside, the fiber of the fish holding everything together.
Monday 7 April 2008
New books
We had two friends visiting us for a couple of days. One was coming from London, the other from Rome. As usual, I asked them to bring me something: from London, it was stem ginger in sugar syrup, golden syrup, and some Tiptree jams which I cannot buy where I live (victoria plum and black cherry). Alas, these were confiscated at Heathrow. Given the restrictions on carry-on luggage, of course the security did not allow these things on board.
I was more lucky with the parmigiano reggiano from Rome, although I am not sure what would have happened had my friend been searched.
Most importantly, I asked for cookbooks, and these arrived safely: "The French Laundry Cookbook", by Thomas Keller, and "Le Ricette Regionalle Italiane", by Anna Gosetti della Salda.
Some people may say that I own too many cookbooks, as if that was possible...
I was more lucky with the parmigiano reggiano from Rome, although I am not sure what would have happened had my friend been searched.
Most importantly, I asked for cookbooks, and these arrived safely: "The French Laundry Cookbook", by Thomas Keller, and "Le Ricette Regionalle Italiane", by Anna Gosetti della Salda.
Some people may say that I own too many cookbooks, as if that was possible...
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