Brandade de morue is a salt cod dish from the French Mediterranean coast. This very traditional preparation involves gently simmering the salt cod in milk, then mixing it with garlic, olive oil and cream. We add a bit of potato to the mixture (a particularity that comes from the Provençal city of Nîmes, which accounts for the name of our version), then gratinée the top of the puree with a bit of grated Parmesan cheese and serve it hot with grilled country bread and marinated olives.
Brandade Nîmoise is on the menu at Le Pichet and Cafe Presse seasonally, generally during the cold months of winter; it is a hearty, warming dish.
Serves 6 as an appetizer
It seems such a waste to discard the milk, I used it to make a fisherman’s pie and thickened it with a roux and added smoked haddock, prawns and fresh cod folded in and baked it with mash on the top. A British classic and a French classic 2 for 1 if you will.
I had not tried that as I am generally afraid that the milk will be too salty…good idea!