Bacalhau? Or Baccalaureate?

[madbaker]

Bacalhau (Cod cakes)

1/2 lb salt cod
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup yellow onion, minced
1/2 tsp chopped mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 (+) cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp paprika

Rinse the cod several times in cold water. Place in a stainless steel bowl and soak for 18-24 hours in plenty of cold water, changing several times. Drain cod, place in a saucepan, and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain, debone if needed, and flake the cod.

In a large bowl beat together olive oil and bread crumbs. Mix well and add cod and remaining ingredients. Mix until well blended and form into six patties (hah!), 1/2" by 3.5". Pan fry with more olive oil until golden brown on both sides.

Serve with a garnish of poached egg on each cake.

What worked: This was my first attempt at working with salt cod. The result was tasty, like a less-flavored crab cake. It did indeed go very well with poached eggs - we had the leftovers for breakfast that way.

What didn't: The "cakes" never caked. They fell apart instantly. It ended up being cod hash.

Will I make it again? Not from this recipe. I might try again after some more research.

Comments

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

Siobhan f. made these once, from this recipe, at a Crown tourney. She had the exact results as you, that is, they never stuck together and we ended up serving cod hash over fresh bread that Sean had made (and baked in his beehive oven). They were quite tasty -- and she made aioli on site in a big mortar, which was a damn impressive feat on its own!

[aastg.livejournal.com]

My Bostonian grandfather got codfish cakes to stay together my adding an egg to the mixture.

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

That makes a good deal of sense. Have you tried it?

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

That was my initial thought as well. I added two eggs, but they didn't help sufficiently.

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I liked them a lot, even as Cod Hash, so I'll go look for another recipe, I think....

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

These were definitely tasty. It was a failed recipe, but not a failed meal.