Help me eat this fish

I have some reasonably nice cod filets in my freezer and I want to cook them tomorrow.

My favorite recipe is Brazilian moqueca (a stew with coconut milk, onion, peppers, etc.)

I just learned a Spanish recipe, also a stew with onion, green pepper, tomatoes, sausage, olives, capers, rosemary and potatoes.

I feel like I am on a roll here, making these fish stews, and they are very popular in my household. Is there another version of fish stew that you can recommend - bonus points if it is ethnic!

Here are a few parameters -- I'd prefer something reasonable quick; nothing heavy on calories (I have cut the coconut milk back dramatically, and the moqueca is still incredibly delish). I'm willing to eat most anything, to buy a different kind of fish, throw in some shrimp, whatever. I'll hit the grocery on my way home (which could lead past Asian or Hispanic markets) so ingredients I may not have on hand are fine.

Also, if it's not actually a recipe but just an idea for some combination of ingredients that sound good, that is fine too.

Judy H wrote:bonus points if it is ethnic!

Is anything *not* ethnic?

Come to think of it, this would make a pretty good tagline.

That Spanish stew sounds good, similar but not identical to a fish tagine I like:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... 339?id=339

Diced merguez or hard Iberian chorizo is a good additional starter for this, and it needs preserved lemon for the finish.

Using just what I have on hand in my pantry, if I had some fresh cod that needed to be cooked, I would...
a) make a vinaigrette with a chopped anchovy or two.
b) boil some potatoes (yukon golds), when done put them in a bowl and smash them with a fork a bit.
c) sauté the cod pieces lightly in olive oil.
d) place the cod pieces on the bed of potatoes.
e) dress the potatoes and cod with the vinaigrette.
f) finish the dish with some cracked black pepper and a minced fresh herb or two.

On the other hand, I might...

Bon pro',
Antonius

Brandade or Italian bacala with potatoes and olives.

spinynorman99 wrote:Brandade or Italian bacala with potatoes and olives.

It sounds to me as if the OP has some fresh cod filets that have been frozen, not baccalà, as the Neapolitan and Provençal dishes to which you refer demand:

I have some reasonably nice cod filets in my freezer and I want to cook them tomorrow.

Fresh cod and salt cod could certainly be treated in similar ways but one would have to make adjustments, given their very different flavours and textures.

Antonius

Antonius, sounds delicious.

Yep, definitely not salt cod.

As for the ethnic thing, I suppose I could say, "non-Midwestern" or "not bland" or I could just specify, "Asian recipes appreciated" though if someone had something Russian or Macedonian or African, that would be fine too.

I'm trying to eat more fish on weeknights and need some interesting ways to flavor it, I could just say that.

Judy -- How about something Moroccan?... I don't have my cookbooks at hand now but there's plenty on the old internet... something somewhat akin to the Spanish dish you mention, with tomatoes and olives, but with the Moroccan spicing... Serve it with couscous, if you have it, or else rice...

Definitely ethnic, definitely not typically Midwestern... nor bland...

Just a thought...

A

Judy,
Since you are interested in Asian recipes, I thought I'd throw this out there. Koreans really love spicy cod fish stew, also known as daegu maeuntang. The whole pieces of fish are cooked in a fiery red spicy broth. While I've never made it, I am quite an expert in eating it
A couple of good recipes can be found here, but you don't really need all the fancy ingredients. My halmuni (grandma) usually put onions (green and regular) jalapenos, mushrooms and daikon radish. But the spicy sauce is pretty spot on. Also make sure you serve it with rice. Koreans usually like to get a spoonful of rice, dunk it into you soup bowl, and slurp it all up together.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/maeuntang
http://www.TriFood.com/maeuntang.html
A google search can also help, sorry I couldn't help with a more personal recipe, but having a vegetarian husband doesn't allow me to make a big pot of stew with fish heads.
Have fun and good luck!

It sounds to me as if the OP has some fresh cod filets that have been frozen, not baccalà, as the Neapolitan and Provençal dishes to which you refer demand:

I fully understood what he was asking. If you want to be a purist cop for the Salt Cod Regulatory Agency then so be it, however there are perfectly good versions of both dishes that can be made with "fresh" cod. My wife's off-the-boat-from-Italy grandmother often made her Christmas baccala with cod fillets back when salt cod was a rarer specialty item. Brandade can also be made with regular cod. If he was looking for reasonable alternative options then I provided them.

Santander wrote:

Judy H wrote:bonus points if it is ethnic!

Is anything *not* ethnic?

Come to think of it, this would make a pretty good tagline.

That Spanish stew sounds good, similar but not identical to a fish tagine I like:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... 339?id=339

Diced merguez or hard Iberian chorizo is a good additional starter for this, and it needs preserved lemon for the finish.

Antonius wrote:Judy -- How about something Moroccan?... I don't have my cookbooks at hand now but there's plenty on the old internet... something somewhat akin to the Spanish dish you mention, with tomatoes and olives, but with the Moroccan spicing... Serve it with couscous, if you have it, or else rice...

Please note that while my tagline suggestion was more rockin', the tagine recommendation is indeed Moroccan. There's one 'l' of a difference.

If one really wants some recipes for Fresh Cod Brandade (which rhymes nicely) just Google it - I'm not saying authentic, but a creamy mess of garlic, potatoes, cod.... mmmm

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Cod-Brandade
http://leitesculinaria.com/1797/recipes ... ndade.html

spinynorman99 wrote:

It sounds to me as if the OP has some fresh cod filets that have been frozen, not baccalà, as the Neapolitan and Provençal dishes to which you refer demand:

I fully understood what he was asking...

Quite, I can see now that it's I who doesn't always read carefully...

Antonius wrote:Fresh cod and salt cod could certainly be treated in similar ways but one would have to make adjustments, given their very different flavours and textures.

And apologies for my comment. What an outrageously stupid thing for me to have said.

Antonius
lo sbirro purista

Thank you to everyone for these fine suggestions!

I forgot to thaw the fish, and so it is still in the freezer, perhaps tomorrow.

The Cod Brandade, which I had never heard of, sounds fabulous, but one cup of heavy cream to a half a pound of fish? Yow.

I think I need to eat the Korean spicy fish stew in a restaurant first, to get a sense of what I am aiming for at home! Does Hae Woon Dae serve this, anyone know? (Just had carryout bi bim bap from there tonight, could have had the fish if I had read this in time!)

The Moroccan tagine sounds like exactly what I am looking for, I looked at the one that was linked and googled some more,will definitely give this a try. Couldn't google it though until I knew it existed, which I didn't until it was suggested here. (Which raised the question, what other countries have fabulous fish stews that I need to know about so that I can google a recipe? I'm not in the habit of ordering fish stew when I eat out; obviously, that's what I need to do.)

The original Spanish version that I had and then copied at home did have homemade chorizo, which was very yummy. (I sadly subbed chicken sausage.) I believe it was a salt cod recipe, but my sister-in-law used fresh (or frozen and thawed, but anyhow, unsalted).

The OP by the way is not he, but rather she. Either that or deeply incognito.

If you haven't yet eaten the fish, put it in the fridge to thaw for tomorrow night, which is the first night of Hanukah, and make "brandade latkes"

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/dining/171hrex.html

Just as a data point, I made this recipe http://leitesculinaria.com/1797/recipes ... ndade.html using fresh cod, and it was very good. Not as rich as Avec's brandade, but really tasty. I added some extra garlic and a little butter at the end. I also used about 1.5 lb fish, instead of the 1 lb called for.

I got some nice looking cod from the LP Whole Foods today and I was thinking of some kind of provencal stew, with fennel, green olives, and lemon. To tomato, or not to tomato? To roux, or not to roux?

We had two packages of cod fillets from Trader Joe's in our freezer and two weekends ago made South Indian Fish Pickle. Its spicy fried chunks of fish that are marinated, then put into jars and pickled with fresh ginger, serrano peppers, garlic, mustard seeds and vinegar. Its eaten more as a condiment to curry or rice dishes. I'll not describe it further but if there is interest I'll try to point the way.

I picked up some cod from WF last week, along with some mussels, oysters and shrimp, and made a riff on bouillabaise--I say riff because I added some tasso and some andouille so it became kind of a cajun version of bouillabaise. The remaining ingredients were relatively authentic and the rouille contributed by petite_gourmande and mbh was divine. The cod was the perfect consistency for the dish--nice and firm, didn't get mushy at all. mmmm...may need to whip up another batch soon

annak wrote:I got some nice looking cod from the LP Whole Foods today and I was thinking of some kind of provencal stew, with fennel, green olives, and lemon. To tomato, or not to tomato? To roux, or not to roux?

Sounds great, I would love if you would share the recipe (or at least the ingredient list).

Hi Judy,
It came out nicely, so here's what I did, measurements approximate:

1.5 lbs of cod, cut into 1 inch chunks

in a dutch oven, sweat one diced fennel bulb (reserve 2 tbsp chopped fronds), one small onion sliced in some olive oil with a pinch of salt for about 5 mins;

add 1 pint rough chopped grape tomatoes, 1/2 tsp or so hot red chili flakes, 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp Taste No 5 Umami Paste (if you have it) and 1/4 cup or so chopped green olives (I prefer Castel Vetrano - delicious but gentle; if you have a stronger one you may want less);

cook a few mins covered until tomatoes soften; then add 1 cup white wine, reduce, add 1 cup or so stock (I have homemade shrimp stock on hand; chicken also fine), and juice of one lemon (save zest for last minute too if you like).

when the flavors are melded (sauce simmered for 5 mins or so) and everything else is ready, add the cod chunks and cook very briefly, 3-4 mins or so. sprinkle with fronds.

everything else: I roasted fingerling potatoes and blanched some green beans. we enjoyed it. Happy Friday!

Fish 'n' Chips. No better use for cod.

boudreaulicious wrote:I picked up some cod from WF last week, along with some mussels, oysters and shrimp, and made a riff on bouillabaisse--I say riff because I added some tasso and some andouille so it became kind of a cajun version of bouillabaisse.

And a wonderful bouillabaisse riff it was, there was none left.

perhaps since the LTH "boys" have their monthly night out, the LTH girls should have a Saturday night cook-in once a month...