pasteis de bacalhau - or how I got over my fear of using salt cod

So you think to yourself, "Self, salt preserved foods and you could go very, very wrong." Then you never get around to making your favorite appetizer from the churrascaria across from your office. Then you has major sads. 

srs sads

Anyway, you happen upon a box of salt cod while you're being productive and pre-ordering food for the week from Fresh Direct. I also like to call it over-ordering food from Fresh Direct because I always manage to stuff my fridge full of things that all need to be cooked around the same time so I end up with two dishes per day (one for now and one for the next day). Don't do it. 

You say to yourself, "Self, this is the time, we will make these codfish cakes." Then you leave the parsley in the fridge until it's slightly dry, but luckily you just set out the fish to soak the day before so you're all good. 

You gently simmer the fish in water until it flakes.  You put the potatoes in the same pot and wonder if potatoes always take so long to cook. You sauté onion and garlic in a pan with butter. Then you dump the whole lot into the largest sized glass bowl of the umpteen piece set you got from WIlliams-Sonoma and finally found a use for.  You skip the whole cloth-squeezy thing because it appears to be mostly boneless. You take a hand blender to it all because, yay, power tools! vroomvroom

You taste the cod and realize you probably soaked it too long (even though that's what the directions said) so you add some salt to it.

You put two eggs in and think, "Hey, I put more potatoes, I'd better add more eggs." Then you realize the third egg turned your perfect mixture into a soupy mush so you stick the bowl in the freezer after taking out half the things on the top shelf. You wait.

You use two teaspoons to attempt to form the oval-y pasteis shape. Sometimes it sticks to the spoons so you get little crunchies that you'll enjoy later.

You realize this make a whole lot of fish cakes.

You finish and you eat.

recipe

• box o salted cod (I used the one that needed to be refrigerated, Trawler brand)
• 3-4 Yukon gold potatoes
• one small onion chopped
• 5+ garlic cloves 
• butter
• handful or more parsley chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 eggs

Soak the cod according to instructions till it's just salty enough for flavor not to suck the moisture out of your body like that W&P bottle in Tank Girl. Place the cod in a 3-4 qt pot and cover with water. Heat until just at a simmer then remove from the water and set aside. 

Cook the potatoes whichever way you like and mash them. Add butter if you're feeling frisky. 

Sauté the onion in butter until almost translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two more.

Pull off any skin left on your cod and discard. Check for bones. Break up your cod into little flaky strings. You can do this by hand, by hand & cloth, or by a food processor/hand blender. Check again to see that there are no bones. 

Once everything's about room temperature mix it all together in a big bowl. Add salt (if necessary) and pepper to taste.

Using 2 teaspoons of about the same size shape the mixture into a pasteis and drop into a hot pan of oil. Cook until golden brown. 

salt-baked hamachi kama for breakfast

So I fricken love hamachi kama. I used to always look for it on the menu at sushi restaurants because nothing can beat a nice grilled piece of yellowtail collar with a lot of lemon on the side. The flesh is succulent, falls apart at slight pressure, and any salt you add to it only enhances the flavor. Sunday morning, after Mike had already gotten our weekend ritual of Dunkin'* for breakfast, I jumped out of my seat and ran to the kitchen.  You see, I'd bought the hamachi kama at the Lobster Place in Chelsea Market before the weekend and was worried it had gone bad. 

Fear not, (I did), the fish was fresh and smelled like... mostly nothing. I like that in a fish that I'm about to consume. 

My normal dealie with the kama is to place it in a cast iron pan with olive oil and butter in the bottom so the skin gets extra crisp and fabulous. Then I dump it unceremoniously into a bowl so that I can eat in front of my keyboard and pour the rendered oils over the entire lot. 

Notice the tots made a one time only appearance. I normally eat this plain with a whole lemon to squeeze on every bite. 

recipe if you can call it that

• one piece hamachi kama (yellowtail collar)
• plenty of salt
• olive oil/butter

Heat the oven to 350ish degrees and place your hamachi kama, skin side down, into a pan just large enough to hold it. Pour a splash or three of olive oil over the top and into the pan and add a pat of butter in the bottom because I said so. Get your tastiest, flakiest, semi coarse salt and sprinkle it liberally over the whole thing.

Place in the oven and cook till it sizzles that it's done at you. 

*I do tots and an iced tea/coffee, he does an everything bagel with cream cheese and two donuts.