James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [31]
1. Melted butter
2. Parsley sauce (page 23)
3. Hollandaise sauce (pages 25–26)
4. Egg sauce (page 23)
CODFISH BÉCHAMEL
1 pound salt codfish
2 cups sauce béchamel (page 23)
Chopped parsley
Toast fried in olive oil
Soak the codfish in cold water for 4 hours. Remove, rinse, place in cold water, and bring to a boil very slowly. Taste for tenderness; the fish may have to simmer for a few minutes. Remove the fish from the water and cut into small pieces or flake with a fork. Combine with sauce béchamel and serve hot over fried toast. Sprinkle with parsley. Plain boiled potatoes are a natural accompaniment.
VARIATIONS
1. Prepare the codfish béchamel as above and pour into a flat baking dish or gratin dish. Sprinkle with buttered crumbs and grated Gruyère cheese and place under the broiler for a few minutes.
2. Sauté 1 medium onion in 4 tablespoons butter; when it is just light-colored, add 1 tablespoon curry powder and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Combine with the cooked codfish and season to taste — possibly you may want additional curry. Serve with rice. French-fried onion rings, very crisp, are good with this.
3. Combine 1 cup of grated Cheddar or Gruyère or Swiss cheese with sauce béchamel and mix well with the codfish. Pour into a flat baking dish or gratin dish and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Run under the broiler for a few minutes. Serve accompanied by plain boiled potatoes with butter and parsley.
4. Sauté 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms, 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion, and 4 tablespoons chopped parsley and combine with the fish. Mix with the sauce béchamel and serve in patty shells or in a large vol-au-vent. (This is an overgrown patty shell. You may order one from a good French baker if you wish to serve something spectacular.)
5. Sauté 1/2 cup blanched shredded almonds in 4 tablespoons butter until crisp and brown. Combine with the fish and sauce béchamel. Serve with large baked potatoes topped with paprika.
6. Add 4 sliced hard-cooked eggs and 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley to the sauce béchamel after combining with the fish. Add to this 1 tablespoon paprika and blend well. Serve with buttered noodles.
ARMENIAN CODFISH
1 pound salt codfish
8 tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
6 tablespoons oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Vinegar
6 green peppers cut in julienne
5 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons oil
Put the fish to soak in cold water for 4 hours. Combine the tomatoes with the oil and let them cook down to a paste. Add salt and pepper to taste and a touch of vinegar to cut the oil. Sauté the peppers in butter until tender.
When the fish has soaked, rinse it and put it in a skillet with cold water and bring to a boil. Drain off the water, add 4 tablespoons of oil, and sauté the fish according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10). Serve on the tomato paste topped with the sautéed peppers. Pass rice and additional tomato sauce, if you wish.
CODFISH, SPANISH STYLE
1 pound salt codfish
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green peppers cut in julienne
1/2 cup olive oil
6 to 8 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
Beurre manié (page 475)
Pimientos, chopped
Parsley, chopped
Toast points, fried in olive oil
Soak the codfish in cold water, rinse, and poach according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 12). Brown the onions, garlic, and pepper in the olive oil. When tender, add the tomatoes and a little of the fish broth. Thicken with beurre manié. Let it cook down for 1/2 to 1 hour, add the pieces of codfish and the pimientos, and heat again. Serve in a flat dish topped with chopped parsley and garnished with fried toast points.
CODFISH SOUFFLÉ
11/2 cups flaked salt codfish
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
Nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
4 egg yolks, beaten
6 egg whites
Sauce béchamel (page 23) or Hollandaise (pages 25–26)
Soak the codfish in cold water, rinse, and