Cod confit: recipe

Pickling fish in olive oil adds flavour, is easy, can't fail and keeps the fish tender. Use firm fish, thick pieces and good olive oil. Suitable ones include cod, salmon, halibut and tuna. Only confit the tuna briefly if you like it red inside. The olive oil, herbs, garlic, peppers and the like determine the flavour of the fish, so you can vary it to your heart's content. -TEXT EDITORS | RECIPES KARIN GAASTERLAND | IMAGE ZORA SPOOK

Cod confit: recipe

You will need this:

• olive oil, enough to cover the fish
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 1 red chilli, halved lengthwise and seeds removed
• 6 cloves of garlic
• zest of 1 lemon, cut julienne
• 150 g hazelnuts
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• salt and pepper
• 4 large cod fillets (200 g each)
• 500 g floury potatoes
• 125 g butter
• 1 tbsp sea urchin paste
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

This is how you make it:

In a thick-bottomed pan or roasting pan, heat the olive oil to 80°C. Add the rosemary, chilli, garlic cloves and lemon zest and heat in for 30 minutes so that the flavours soak nicely into the oil. Heat the oven to 180°C. Remove the ingredients from the oil and roast them in a baking dish in some hanging oil until golden brown. Set aside for the mash. In a frying pan, toast the hazelnuts with the cumin powder and some salt and, once cooled, coarsely chop them. Set aside as well. Confit the cod in the olive oil for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest in the oil.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water. Drain and leave to drain. Mash in 75 grams of butter, rosemary, chilli, garlic and lemon zest. Season with salt and
pepper. Melt the rest of the butter with the balsamic vinegar and the sea urchin paste. Divide the puree between the plates. Carefully scoop the cod from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on top of the puree. Sprinkle the fish with salt and hazelnut, and pour the sea urchin butter over it.

Wine

Sea urchin is tricky to combine, it is slightly sweet with a salty undertone. Take in the nutty flavour of the cumin and you could call fish sauce umami. This savoury flavour can make a wine bitter and drive away the fruit aromas. So choose something fresh-sweet like champagne or a summer Soave that throws juicy yellow fruit against it and an acidity for balance. Let this wine air for a while and nutty notes like almond will also emerge. PIEROPAN SOAVE CLASSICO 2020, VENETO | DEGOUDENTON.NL | €14.95

Need more culinary inspiration?

This recipe is from Cuisine Carine.
CUISINE CARINE |KARIN GAASTERLAND | CARRERA CULINAIR ISBN: 9789048860524 | € 33,99

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