It’s September, arguably the month with the best weather New York City has to offer all year. The skies are blue, the air is a little crisp and it’s pleasant to be both indoors AND outdoors. September is the gateway to fall cooking, and also the gateway to project cooking. Finally, we can turn our ovens on without taking our pants off.
I have several projects on the horizon – creating a gnocchi that doesn’t disintegrate in boiling water, for instance, or finally getting around to those Russian vareniki. That’s not to say that I didn’t attempt any this summer though- I’m overachieving in year-round, frenzied bursts punctuated by weeks of sheer laziness where I will stoop to ordering an extremely unimpressive salad and a partially melted, extraordinarily overpriced cup of ice cream from two different purveyors in the same evening. I like to keep it exciting.
Anyway, the last big project I attempted ended in utter disaster- maybe the worst and most expensive kitchen failure I’ve ever experienced. I had picked up the excellent book My Portugal, which I read from cover to cover, and somewhere in the tales of George Mendes’s childhood and formative cooking years he convinced me that I should salt my own cod.
To give you some important context, I am a loyal shopper of Fairway Markets and salt cod is readily available there all the time, year round. So this was not a matter of necessity, just a story of courage, ego and whimsy. My roommate was also gone for the week so I had not only a lot of time on my hands, I was able to monopolize the refrigerator in a way that she would have graciously allowed but I would have felt guilty for had she been around.
As you can imagine, the cod quickly became my albatross. I shelled out a not insignificant amount of money to procure it, brought it home, salted it as instructed and laid it to rest in a very large container I had purchased last year for a sourdough bread project I’ve yet to undertake. It took up 2/3 of my refrigerator- a conservative estimate. For the next 3 days I rinsed that fish and dutifully changed its water every 16 hours. I would set an alarm for 4:30AM, salt the cod and then go back to sleep. I would go out for drinks with friends, look at my phone and say “I have to get home and salt my cod.” I performed these tasks in the bathtub because the cod’s bucket was too big to fit in my kitchen sink.
After its allotted time soaking and being rinsed, the cod was allegedly ready. But alas, when I took it out to examine it, I couldn’t bring myself to use it. It had a very weird texture, which I think was correct, but it also had a fishy smell that I just didn’t trust. Making myself sick on contaminated cod after all that work sounded like the ultimate punishment, and so I decided to head back to Fairway and buy salted cod- something I obviously should have done 4 days prior.
The fact that I am inspired to share this recipe with you after this ill-fated (but luckily not LITERALLY ill-fated) endeavor should signal to you that this is really an excellent, interesting dish worth making. I would make it again in a heartbeat. But for the love of all things holy, please don’t make your own salt cod.
Note: You'll need to start this recipe a day ahead to soak your chickpeas and ideally get a headstart on your pickled shallots. You can also use store-bought but I love this recipe and it's quick and easy.
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 400g dried chickpeas
- 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 3 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 2 fresh bay leaves, notches torn every 1/2 inch
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 1 small onion
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 6-by-1 inch slabs bacon
- 6 cups vegetable stock, cold, plus more as needed
- 2 small carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
- 2 small celery stalks
- Kosher salt to taste
- Kosher salt to taste
- 6 oz. / 168g fresh parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 cups rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups / 300g sugar
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 fresh bay leaf, notches torn every 1/2 inch
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste
- 2 cups / 360g reconstituted salt cod, flaked
- 2 teaspoons parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
- 6 teaspoons sherry vinegar, plus more to taste
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground white pepper to taste
- 2 cups / 85g baby watercress or arugula leaves
- Maldon sea salt to taste
Instructions
- First make the chickpeas. In a large bowl, cover them with cold water by 2 inches. Let them soak overnight. The next day, drain, rinse and drain again.
- Wrap the coriander, peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine. Cut the onion in half and stud each half with the cloves. In a large saucepot, combine the bacon, stock, chickpeas, carrot, celery, herb sachet and onion. The stock should cover everything by at least 1 inch. If it doesn't, add more.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat., then simmer low and slow until the chickpeas are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Season very generously with salt. Keep cooking until the chickpeas are very, very soft and almost falling apart but still holding their shape, about 30 minutes longer. The chickpeas will firm up when they cool; that's why it's so important to get them really tender now.
- Discard the carrot, celery, onion, bacon and herb sachet. Let the chickpeas cool to room temperature in their cooking liquid, then cover tightly and refrigerate in their cooking liquid until cold, at least 3 hours or for up to 5 days. Drain before using them.
- Now make the pickled shallots. In a small skillet, heat the peppercorns and coriander over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until toasted and fragrant.
- In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar and 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the sugar, salt, bay leaf and toasted spices. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar and salt dissolve. Remove from the heat and steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and pour hot over the prepared vegetables or fruits in a nonreactive container.
- Let cool to room temperature, then cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to 1 week. The pickling flavors get stronger over time. Strain the pickles and reserve the liquid, which you can reuse a second time.
- To make the parsley oil, fill a medium bowl with ice and water. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and salt lightly. Add the parsley leaves and cook until bright green, about 30 seconds. Immediately transfer to the ice water. When cool, drain well. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel, roll up and wring dry. Repeat until the parsley is completely dry. Chop the dry parsley.
- In a blender, combine the parsley and 1/4 cup of the oil. Puree until smooth, then add the remaining 1/4 cup oil in a steady steam with the machine running. Turn the blender to high and blend for 1 minute.
- Set a large coffee filter over a container that holds it snugly and secure the edges of the filter to the container with a rubber band. Pour the oil into the filter and let it drip through. Discard the solids. The oil can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- To assemble the salad, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the chickpeas and salt cod and heat, stirring gently, to get the chill out of both. When they're warm, toss in the shallots, parsley, zest and 4 teaspoons of the vinegar. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
- In a medium bowl, lightly coat the greens with olive oil and toss with the remaining 2 teaspoons vinegar. Season with kosher salt and pepper and more olive oil and vinegar, if desired.
- Divide the greens onto 4 plates and chop with equal parts of the chickpea mixture. Drizzle with parsley oil and sprinkle with Maldon salt.
Notes
From My Portugal
