Last week, after a couple meals of dhal, rice, and fried salt fish; okra, and fried salt fish; karaila and fried salt fish, I had had more than my fill of fried salt fish. How-ever, I still had a container of little more than a cup of fried salt fish left back in the refrigerator. What to do with it, I wonder-ed. I knew that I wanted to transform the salt fish to make something that I could eat with a salad or with bread or biscuits, and then it hit me – Brandade!
Brandade is a dish made of salt fish that has been whipped to create a light, fluffy texture. It can be served as a dip or spread or baked with a crusty topping in the style of a gratin. It is both a French and Spanish dish. While supplemental ingredients vary, the star of the dish in both versions is salt fish, particularly salted cod.
The French call it Brandade de Morue and the Spanish call it Brandada de Bacalao. Morue being the French name for salt cod and bacalao being the Spanish name for salt cod.
Brandade is basically an emulsion, so that means we are combining ingredients using a particular method in order for them to become a unified mass. Think of making mayonnaise or an aioli – the oil and yolks must be whipped together to develop body and become something altogether different than what they are separately. In the case of a Brandade, the salt fish, along with garlic, cream and oil gets emulsified, thereby becoming this light, soft, savoury spread.
Real Brandade is made with the salt fish cooked with aromatics like bay leaves and fresh herbs in a bath of milk, tenderizing the fish. What I made is what I call Faux Brandade because I was using up leftovers – already cooked salt fish that was sautéed with onions, garlic, fresh herbs, and tomatoes.
As I set about preparing and putting together the ingredients, it reminded me of one of the things that I like about cooking – working from instinct, not being sure how things will turn out or taste and the sheer freedom that comes from cooking without the safety net of a recipe. I know. I know. It is not something that comes easy or naturally to many people.
For my Faux Brandade:
● I dropped the fried salt fish into the bowl of a food process and pulsed it to finely mince the ingredients and mix them together.
● I boiled some floury russet potatoes and mashed them hot with butter and evaporated milk along with a generous sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper. I added a generous amount of milk because I wanted the mash to be soft and easily spreadable.
● The mashed potatoes were combined with the minced fried salt fish and added to a baking dish and cooked for 25 – 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degrees F oven.
● The result was a thin crust with a soft (not mushy) spread that when cooled spooned perfectly to accompany a salad, spread thickly over crusty toast or eaten on its own.
● I did not need to add salt because there was enough salt from the cooked salt fish.
The next time you have leftover fried salt fish, give this method of using it up a try. Actually, I am thinking that apart from making a meat spread, which is my go-to for using up leftover roasts – pork or chicken – I am going to try using up meat in this baked mash-spread.
I think what made this Faux Brandade so tasty was that the aromatics and herbs were already cooked-in with the salt fish. Give it a try.
Cynthia
