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CODFISH SALAD

3 tablespoons cold poached salt codfish, broken into large flakes

2 cups sliced, boiled potatoes (preferably waxy, new potatoes)

1 cup finely chopped or thinly sliced onions

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

This salad undoubtedly came from the Portuguese on Cape Cod or Nantucket.

Combine the fish, potatoes, onions, and parsley in a salad bowl. Blend the dressing thoroughly. Pour over the salad and let it mellow an hour or so before serving.

CODFISH CROQUETTES

1 cup salt codfish, soaked, poached, and flaked

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms, sautéed

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Dash of nutmeg

11/4 cups heavy white sauce

Sifted bread or cracker crumbs

1 egg, beaten

Oil or fat for frying

Mix the codfish, mushrooms, and seasonings and combine with the heavy white sauce. Let it cool thoroughly and form into balls, cylinders, or pyramids. Let these chill for an hour or so. Heat the fat in your fryer to 375°. Dip the croquettes into crumbs, then into beaten egg, and finally cover thoroughly with crumbs again. Fry 3 or 4 minutes or until nicely browned. Drain on absorbent paper.

VARIATIONS

1. Add another cup of codfish and omit the mushrooms.

2. Use sautéed onions in place of the mushrooms. The onions should be finely chopped and sautéed until just soft. Use 1/2 cup of onions to 11/4 cups of codfish flakes.

CODFISH CAKES 1

There are as many recipes for this delicacy as there are counties in all the New England states. One of the newest has come to me from Charles Triggs, who is an authority on fish and a man who knows codfish. His recipe is:

1 pound salt codfish

7 or 8 medium-sized potatoes

1 egg

Fat for frying

Cut the codfish across the grain into about 1/2-inch pieces. Pick the pieces apart, place in a skillet, cover with hot water, stir, and drain. Repeat two or three times, then cover with cold water and let it come to a boil. Change the water, let it come to a boil again, and simmer for a few minutes.

Boil and mash the potatoes. Drain the codfish and mix with the mashed potatoes, using a wire masher. When thoroughly mixed, add the egg and beat with a fork. Take a tablespoon of the mixture at a time and drop into deep fat, or into a frying pan with a fair amount of fat. Drain on absorbent paper.

NOTE: This recipe can be changed according to taste — some may prefer a larger percentage of codfish, some less.

CODFISH CAKES II

This is a recipe from Martinique that is served in a pleasant restaurant in Paris specializing in food from the Antilles.

21/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 shallots, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Beer, enough to make a batter (about 1 cup)

1/2 pound codfish, soaked, poached, and shredded

Fat for deep frying

Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add the garlic, shallots, parsley, and a good grind of black pepper. Stir in enough beer to make a batter and add the shredded codfish.

Heat the fat in your fryer to 375°. Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the hot fat and fry until nicely browned. Drain on absorbent paper.

CODFISH CAKES III

The mixture of equal quantities of mashed potatoes and cooked shredded codfish is the traditional codfish cake. Some like less potato, and others like more. Vary it to suit yourself.

1 cup shredded cooked codfish

1 cup mashed potatoes

1 or 2 eggs

Freshly ground black pepper

Butter or hot fat

Flour or crumbs (if desired)

Mix the codfish, potatoes, eggs, and pepper and form into cakes. Sauté in plenty of butter or bacon fat, or roll in flour or crumbs and fry in deep hot fat.

VARIATIONS

1. A teaspoon of ground ginger or a little finely chopped green ginger does wonderful things for codfish balls. This is a recipe that my mother’s old chef used, and the codfish