how2heroes » Spicy Salt Cod Cakes

Seafood » Spicy Salt Cod Cakes

This dish takes a little planning, but it's worth the effort. Laura Raposa of the Boston Herald's Inside Track and Track Gals TV shows how to re-constitute strange-looking salt cod to create these flavorful fish cakes. The cod gets mixed with vegetables, Portuguese allspice and chili pepper, then assembled much like a crab cake. A quick pan fry and they're done. Serve nice and warm with Laura's Stewed Fava Beans.

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Serves 4

Ingredients

6-8 oz salt cod
2-3 quarts whole milk
5 tbsp canola oil, divided
¼ cup onions, chopped
¼ cup celery, chopped
¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
¼ cup crushed, canned tomatoes
¼ cup parsley & cilantro combined, chopped
few pinches of crushed red pepper
black pepper for seasoning
1 tsp Portuguese allspice
kosher salt for seasoning
2 lightly whisked eggs
1-2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup flour for dredging
chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

How-to

The day before serving, rinse some of the salt off of salt cod and place in 1 quart of milk in a covered bowl. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours, draining and changing with 1 quart of new milk after every 12 hours
The next day, discard the milk and rinse the cod under cold water. Julienne or dice the fish and set aside
In a sauté pan, heat 3 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onions, peppers and celery, tomatoes, cilantro, parsley and garlic. Sauté 1-2 minutes
Season with crushed red pepper and Portuguese allspice
Add the cod and sauté for about 4 minutes, breaking up the cod with a wooden spoon. If the cod still seems firm and not soft and flakey, add ¼ cup of juice from the canned tomatoes, and allow to simmer until the most of the liquid has been absorbed
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before placing into a mixing bowl
Stir in the eggs and breadcrumbs
Form the mixture into 8 cakes, ¼ cup per cake. If the mixture seems wet and will not hold together when formed, add more breadcrumbs
Dredge the cakes in flour; pat off excess flour
In a medium sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of canola oil over medium-high heat. Pan-fry the cod cakes in batches, 2 minutes per side. Remove the cakes from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate and serve warm with Laura's Stewed Fava Beans!

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Comments (1)

Posted Friday, May 14, 2010, at 3:30 am by PJH:

I've always wanted to know what to do with that stuff - "baccala," as my Italian in-laws call it. NOW I know. These look REALLY tasty, Laura - thanks so much!

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Spicy Salt Cod Cakes

Seafood » Spicy Salt Cod Cakes

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Ingredients

How-to

Laura Raposa

Comments (1)

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