Brandade de Bacalao

After hitting Portugal & Spain as stops on our honeymoon, we officially decided we loved bacalao (Salt Cod) in its many forms. Bacalao is an amazing thing as it takes a basic white fish and preserves it allowing for more intense flavors to evolve as well as becoming more versatile in a number of great dishes.

Brandade is a very traditional version of bacalao in which it is reconstituted, emulsified with milk or cream, garlic, boiled potatoes, egg yolks using olive oil as a binding agent. Then it is flavored with parsley & white pepper and can be served immediately or baked. In this version i decided to make a basic sofrito with ripe tomatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, red pepper flakes, white wine and olive oil that I cooked down for 15 minutes. I spread the Brandade in a baking dish suitable for direct heat then poured a column of tomato sofrito down the middle, then broiled it for about 20 minutes to create a crust with great texture. Served it with a toasted ciabatta and an endive and grapefruit salad - it was a taste of homey, comfort-food heaven.