Bacalao and Eggplant Stew

I had tried this concept once before, using a Nigerian fish stew recipe as a base. I didn't like the way that turned out, and I despaired of how to pull this off until I took Emilie Hardman's "Creative Vegan Cuisine" class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. There she made an eggplant and tofu stew with a tomato base. I decided to use that as a launching point for this summery meal.

1 jalapeño is quite mild. 2 is right around medium. Adjust to taste.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. bacalao, soaked overnight in three changes of ice water
• 2 zucchinis, cut into 3/4" cubes
• 1 lb. eggplant, cut into 3/4" cubes
• 1 large red onion, diced
  
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeds removed and finely minced
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1/3 cup water
  
• 2 tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 tbsp. cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
  
• 1 1/2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. honey

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the diced onion and sauté until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, jalapeño and ginger. Sauté another 3-4 minutes or until soft.
3. Add the eggplant and zucchini and sauté until the eggplant begins to soften.
4. Add all ingredients except for fish. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, dry the bacalao thoroughly with paper towels. Broil on high heat for about 4-6 minutes or until just done.
6. Add the bacalao to the stew. Turn heat to low and allow to cook for 2 minutes more.

Serve immediately with rice or quinoa.

Fish Chowder

Raphael Pereira introduced me to the charms of salt cod, known in Portuguese as bacalao. Cod is the fish for which Cape Cod, Massachusetts gets its name, and has historically been abundant along the coast of New England and Nova Scotia. The fish is dried and preserved in salt, creating a commodity that could survive the journey back to Europe.

This chowder, based (loosely) on the one found here, is very typical of traditional New England food. Fish chowder and its more famous cousin, clam chowder, have been signatures of the Boston area for centuries.

Here I have tried to do it some justice, creating a hearty stew in the old New England fashion.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. salt cod (bacalao), soaked for 8-12 hours in ice water
• 3-4 potatoes, peeled and diced (about 3 cups)
• 2-3 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
• 1/2 lb bacon or salt pork, minced
  
• 3 cups milk
• Black pepper to taste
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring some water to a boil. Blanch the soaked ("freshened") cod by immersing it in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then immediately immersing it in ice cold water. Remove from water and set aside.
   
2. Cook minced bacon over medium-high heat for several minutes until it begins to cast off a good deal of fat. Add the chopped onions and sauté until tender.
3. Add the carrots, potatoes and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook covered until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning.
4. Break the fish into large-ish chunks (it will continue to fall apart on its own).
   
5. Add fish, milk and evaporated milk to the vegetables. Cook gently over medium-high heat for several minutes. Do not boil or the milk will curdle.

Serve immediately.

Salt Cod (Bacalao) Fritters

These delicious fritters came from Rafael Pereira's "Spanish Tapas" class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. His classes are highly recommended; I plan on taking more of them.

UPDATE 3/29/2008: I attempted to make these by sautéing instead of frying. Unfortunately, I found the fritters had the tendency to fall apart. I compensated by adding additional flour; this held them together but this created a 'flour pancake' taste that seemed ill-suited to the dish. I am going to experiment with corn-based strategies (corn flour? corn meal?) after Passover.

Rafael served them with an apple aioli; I plan on coming up with my own sweet aioli (perhaps a honey aioli?) before I post one here.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1/2 lb. salt cod
* 3 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
* 2 tbsp. flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, minced
* 1 medium onion, minced
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1/4 cup flour
* 2 tbsp. olive oil
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak the salt cod for 8-12 hours in cold water, changing the water 3 times. Pat dry and mince.
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium high skillet, then sauté the onions for 1 minute. Add the salt cod, cilantro, salt and pepper; sauté for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the mixture to the mashed potatoes. Gradually add the egg and the flour.
4. Refrigerate the mixture for one hour.
5. Heat vegetable oil for frying. Once hot, add heaping tablespoons to it, removing them after they have turned golden brown.

Serve immediately with aioli and Spanish red wine.

Chinnappa's Sardines

I received this simple recipe from a colleague from work. He had red chili powder, but I wasn't feeling up to that tonight, so I opted for an equal amount of paprika. These are simply sublime. These little fish are refreshing and delicious.

If you are an East Cambridge resident, you can get fresh Sardines at the New Deal Fish Market at the corner of Fulkerson and Cambridge. Across the street is Mayflower Poultry ("Live Poultry Fresh Killed"), where you can buy excellent meat on the cheap.

INGREDIENTS:

• Sardines (8-10)
• 2tbs Paprika or chili powder
• 1tbs Turmeric powder (or my favorite, Madras Curry Powder)
• 2tbs Lime Juice
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
• Salt to taste
• 3-4 tbs olive oil to fry

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix the salt (1 tsp or salt to taste), paprika (2 tbs), garlic, turmeric powder(1 tbs), and lime juice (1-2 limes) to form a thin paste. Marinate the sardines 1 hour.
2. In a pan put the oil, and after the oil is hot, reduce the flame and fry the fish at low flame for 5 mins and turn the side and fry it for another 5 mins. Make sure you don't fry too much.

Serve immediately with any dry, structured white.

Chopped herring salad with pears

This is a slight variation on an Ashkenazi weekend morning standard. Serve this on a bagel with sliced red onion, sliced hard boiled egg and a few capers.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup pickled herring in wine sauce, drained
• 1 firm pear (such as Bosc, Concorde or Asian), peeled and chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• Several pecans or walnuts
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Puree all ingredients in a food processor.

Tuna Puttanesca

Easy, fast, cheap. Vaguely charming. Far be it from me, of course, to make a joke about puttanesca sauce being aptly named. (I'm too classy for that.) But once you realize how easy this is, you'll feel bad about having paid $18 for it at some fancy place in the North End.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can (3 oz.) tomato paste
• 2 oz. anchovy paste (or 1 tin flat anchovy fillets)
• 2 oz. capers
• 6 oz. kalamata olives (without pits if possible)
  
• 3 cans chunk white tuna
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. crushed garlic
• Red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. linguini, cooked al dente
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the anchovy paste or anchovy fillets. If fillets are used, crush them with the back of a wooden spoon as they sauté.
3. Add in the garlic. Let the garlic and anchovies sauté for just a minute (they cook fast).
4. Add in the tomato paste, blending with a spatula. Allow to cook for a minute.
5. Mix in tunafish and red pepper; let cook another minute or two.
6. Add everything else; reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve over pasta with grated parmesan.

PAIRINGS: Use a spicy wine with high tannins. A sufficiently ripe Cabernet Sauvignon is ideal. (Caution: unripe Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like the runoff from a Tabasco Sauce factory.)