SALT COD SALAD
The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dish we often serve at Christmas as part of the main course. The festive version is quite rustic and hearty – pan-fried fish stirred into a rich stew of oily peppers and chunks of potato. This is my lighter, more elegant interpretation, which nods too the original but doesn’t have its heaviness. As or my cod marinated in liquorice – the cod is only very lightly cured in the salt.
SERVES 4
1 litre water
150g sea salt
1 bay leaf
5 white peppercorns
3 juniper berries
500g black cod loin or good-quality cod loin
1 tbsp lemon juice
70ml extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for frying
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp clear honey
50g pitted black olives
500g small new potatoes
1 red chilli
80g spring onions
1 thyme sprig
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the water, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns and juniper berries in a large casserole and bring to the boil. As soon as it starts to boil, take off the heat and leave to cool completely.
When the water is cold, submerge the cod fillet and leave to marinate
at room temperature for about 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 200.C /fan 180.C /gas 6. Whisk the lemon juice, oil, vinegar, honey and some salt and pepper in a bowl, until creamy. Put the olives into a small baking tray and the potatoes into a roasting tin. Bake the olives for 20 minutes, then remove and leave to cool. Bake the potatoes for about 30 minutes, until soft (it depends how big they are). Remove from the tin and leave to cool at room temperature, then peel and crush them by hand into pieces the size of an almond.
Cut the chilli in half, take out the seeds and cut into very thin strips. Put in iced water for 10 minutes. Slice the white part of the onion and set aside, then cut the green stems into very thin strips and place in the iced water.
When the cod has had its marinating time, preheat the oven to 200.C /fan 180.C /gas 6.
Drain the cod and dry it on kitchen paper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan with a few drops of olive oil and the thyme over a high heat, and fry the cod fillet for 1 minute on each side, until golden. Transfer to a piece of baking paper, fold the paper over the top and finish the cooking in the oven for 6 minutes. Allow to cool a little then flake the flesh. Lay the cod flakes in a serving dish then scatter over the potatoes, olives and onion slices. Pour over the dressing and garnish with the drained chilli curls and green onion strips.
