2021 Tour de France - Stage 13: Nîmes to Carcassonne
Today, the cyclists travel SW through the Languedoc-Roussillion region of France. A dish that has its roots here, in Nîmes, is Brandade. Brandade is a delicious mixture made with a base of salt cod (dried, cured fish - which gets rinsed and rehydrated in a cheesy cream). It can be made as a dip or as a delicious gratin. I ran into a slight problem though. Try as I might, I couldn’t get my hands on any salt cod. I decided to improvise and make something between Brandade and a hash brown crab cake. The results we’re spectacular. With little additives, the fish really comes through clean and fresh. Better yet, the girls LOVED these little cakes. I served them with a light mix of greens and a champagne dijon vinaigrette.
Cod Cakes (Mangia's riff on Brandade)
1 lb of cod
Heavy cream
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 large russet potato
Lemon
Cayenne pepper
Cut the fish into large chunks and place them in the bowl of a food processor, along with ~¼ cup of heavy cream and garlic. Pulse to break everything up. Add in the zest from the lemon and juice from half of the lemon. Reserve.
Peel and shred the potato on a box grater and add the potato to the food processor bowl, along with a pinch of cayenne pepper. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Pulse to combine. Pour the contents into a mixing bowl.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat filling the bottom with a quarter inch of frying oil. Form the fish-potato mixture into little cakes, about 1.5 inches wide.
Place the cakes into the hot oil and let them fry up (about 3 minutes). Carefully flip the cakes over and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Serve with a dipping sauce, aioli, or a salad. These are so fresh and bright and juicy they don’t really need a sauce.
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Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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