Portugese Salted Codfish Fritters
4 to 8
Prep Time: 24 hrs 10 mins
Cook Time: 48 mins
Total Time: 24 hrs 58 mins
Ingredients:
Roasted Garlic:
1 head garlic
olive oil (to drizzle)
Codfish Fritters:
1 pound dried salted codfish (boneless)
1/2 lemon (plus additional wedges to serve)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup leeks (cleaned, finely chopped)
1 serrano (seeded, minced)
1/2 bunch parsley (chopped)
1/2 bunch cilantro (chopped)
1 pound russet potatoes (peeled, TK ABOUT 4 POTATOES)
3 cloves roasted minced garlic (peeled)
2 eggs
canola oil (for frying)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
For the Roasted Garlic:
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Cut off the top of the head of garlic. Place on top of aluminum foil, and drizzle with olive oil. Enclose the foil to create a packet. Bake for 30 minutes and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out 3 garlic cloves, mince, and set aside. Reserve the rest for another use.
For the Salted Cod Fritters:
Add the salted codfish to a large bowl filled with cold water. Let soak for 24 hours, switching out for fresh water half way through. Drain the water from the cod and transfer to a medium pot along with lemon, milk and cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until tender enough to flake with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain, rinse cod and place in a medium bowl. Flake cod with a fork and set aside.
Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat with olive oil. Add leeks and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add serrano and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Place the potatoes in a large pot, fill with water, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain water out of the pot, keeping the potatoes, and mash with a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
Stir into the potato mixture along with the roasted minced garlic, eggs, parsley and cilantro leaves, and season with salt and pepper. Gently folk in the flaked cod until combined.
Heat a skillet over medium heat with 1-inch of canola oil to 370ºF. Working in batches use a 4-ounce ice cream scoop or 2 tablespoons to shape the cod mixture into a ball and place into the fry oil. Cook until golden brown, turning to get color on each side, about 5 minutes. Transfer the fritters using a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with lemon wedges.