Brandade de Morue: Baked Salt Cod and Potato Gratin with Garlic Toasts
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
Soaked salt cod is gently poached in milk with bay and thyme, then beaten into garlic potatoes with warm olive oil and cream. A crisp crumb top and baguette toasts make it a sharing dish or a light supper.
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Method
- 1
Soak the cod. Rinse the salt cod, put it in the large bowl and cover with plenty of cold water, then refrigerate for 24-36 hours, changing the water 4 times. Before cooking, poach a small flake in water and taste it: it should be pleasantly seasoned, not salty, so soak a little longer if needed. Soaking draws the salt out and plumps the dried flesh back to a tender texture.
- 2
Poach gently. Put the milk, water, bay, thyme and peppercorns in the medium saucepan, add the drained cod and bring to a bare simmer over medium-low heat. Cook for 10-15 minutes without letting it boil, until the fish flakes easily and reads at least 63 °C. Keep 120 ml of the liquid, discard the rest, and flake the fish once it is cool enough, picking out any skin and bones.
- 3
Boil the potatoes. Put the potatoes and garlic in the large saucepan, cover with cold, unsalted water and boil for 15-20 minutes until very tender. Drain, return them to the pan over low heat for 1 minute to steam off the moisture, then rice or mash with the garlic. Dry potato takes up the oil and cream without turning gluey.
- 4
Warm the oil and cream. Heat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan). Warm the olive oil and cream together in the small saucepan until steaming. Warm liquids blend into the fish and potato smoothly, while cold ones can make the mixture greasy.
- 5
Beat the brandade. Add the flaked fish to the potatoes and beat hard with the wooden spoon, pouring in the warm oil and cream a little at a time, until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest, cayenne, nutmeg and pepper, and loosen with a splash of the poaching liquid if it feels stiff. Taste: the cod usually seasons it, so it rarely needs salt.
- 6
Bake until golden. Butter the gratin dish, spread the brandade in it and level the top. Mix the breadcrumbs with the melted butter, scatter them over and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges and the centre reads at least 74 °C. The butter crisps the crumbs so every scoop has a crunchy top.
- 7
Toast and serve. While the gratin bakes, brush the baguette slices with the oil, spread them on the baking sheet and bake on the shelf below for 8-10 minutes, until crisp and golden. Serve the brandade hot, straight from the dish, with the toasts for scooping.
Storage
Cool quickly and refrigerate within 1 hour; keep covered for up to 3 days. Reheat once, covered, in the oven until piping hot (74 °C). Store the toasts in an airtight tin. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- large bowl
- medium saucepan
- large saucepan
- colander
- potato ricer or masher
- small saucepan
- wooden spoon
- 20 cm gratin dish (about 1.5 litres)
- baking sheet
- pastry brush
- instant-read probe thermometer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 538 kcal |
| Protein | 22.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 40.9 g |
| of which sugars | 4.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 2.2 g |
| Fat | 31.9 g |
| of which saturates | 11.2 g |
| Fibre | 3 g |
| Salt | 1.74 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
4.3 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
