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Salt cod brandade with tomato, almond and basil
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 150g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized chunks
- 300ml milk
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- 300g bacalao (salt cod), desalinated
- 150ml mild olive oil
- 20g flaked almonds
- 50g sun blush or semi-dried tomatoes in oil
- small handful basil leaves
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Method
Place the potatoes in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, then drain in a colander.
Meanwhile in another small pan in which the salt cod fits snugly, heat the milk, garlic and bay leaf to simmer. Add the salt cod and return to a simmer then cook for another minute or so until the cod just starts to flake. Remove from the heat and leave to steep for 5 minutes. Drain the milk from the cod and reserve 50ml along with the garlic. Discard the remaining milk and bay leaf.
In a bowl, flake the cod into small pieces, discarding the skin and any bones, then put in a food processor with the reserved milk and garlic. Pulse a few times to break up the cod then add the potato and pulse until smooth. With the motor still running, drizzle in the olive oil to make an emulsion, then transfer to a serving dish. Season, if needed.
Heat a dry frying pan over medium heat then add the almonds. Shake the pan while toasting the almonds until golden. Set aside to cool then roughly chop. Roughly chop the tomatoes and shred the basil then mix with the almonds. Scatter the mix over the top of the brandade then drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Serve at room temperature with good bread.
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