Week 4 - Golden Cod
It’s Week 4 of the 2022 Cook Off and you know what that means ….. It’s Fish Week!
We’re a little slow getting started on this week’s recipe. The unusually hot and humid weather continues here in Ferryland. So hot that standing in front of a blazing fire while wearing layers of wool clothing isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s downright dangerous! But yesterday, Lori threw caution to wind, sparked up the fire, and got cooking. Early reports are that this week’s recipe is another winner!
The Colony’s hearth is lit and ready for another hot week of cooking!
Our recipe is courtesy of Elizabeth Ayrton’s Cookery of England: Being a Collection of Recipes for Traditional Dishes of All Kinds from the Fifteenth Century to the Present Day, with Notes on their Social and Culinary Background. The dish is called Golden Cod, and while Ayrton does not provide a primary source for her recipe, it sounds a lot like a traditional Yorkshire dish called “Golden Ling”.
And speaking of Yorkshire … did you know that the Colony of Avalon’s founder, George Calvert (aka Lord Baltimore) was a Yorkshire native? In fact, the same time Calvert was financing the construction of the Colony of Avalon, here in Ferryland, he was also building a hunting lodge for himself, not far from Yorkshire’s River Swale. Today, that lodge is part of Kiplin Hall.
But back to the recipe
In case you’re wondering, Ling (or Molva molva for you biology nerds out there) is a large, long fish that looks a bit like the love child of a cod and an eel, and apparently tastes like a cross between cod and lobster ….. which sounds absolutely delicious!
Image of ling by Gervais et Boulart - Les poissons Gervais, H.
If you can get your hands on some ling, by all means go for it. If not, don’t worry. I’ve never seen ling for sale in our parts - despite the fact that it’s apparently native to northern North American waters - so, like Ayrton, we’re using cod. Feel free to substitute any firm white fish, like haddock, hake, or even tilapia.
Ayrton’s recipe calls for court bouillon which is the French term for a short, or briefly boiled, broth. Francois Pierre de la Varenne’s book Le Cuisinier Francois (1651) included a number of recipes for fish cooked in court bouillon. Cook off veterans may remember that it was also one of the ingredients in Nombles of Porpas, featured in Week 5 of the 2019 Cook Off.
The Recipe
Ingredients
For the court bouillon:
1 small onion
1 or 2 sticks celery
1 piece of fennel (optional)
188 ml (3/4 cup) white wine
1 bouquet garni of parsley, thyme and bay leaf
Salt
Pepper
Juniper berries (optional)
1 litre (approx. 4 cups) of water
Good pinch of saffron (optional, but without it, your golden cod won’t be golden)
For the fish:
1 thick slice of ling (whatever fish you decide to use) for each person
2 onions
Salt and pepper
60-90 grams (about 1 cup) fine ground oatmeal
1 large parsnip, finely chopped
Mixed herbs, finely chopped
60 grams (4 tablespoons) butter
700 ml (a scant 3 cups) of court-bouillon (see note above for recipe)
Method
First prepare the court bouillon. Instead of boring you with my explanation of how to make Court Bouillon, here’s a super useful video.
Cut one of the onions in half. Rub each slice of fish with a piece of the cut onion. Then season with salt and pepper, and coat as thickly as possible with the oatmeal.
Melt the butter in a pan. Increase heat and quickly fry each piece of fish until golden. Note: the goal is to colour the oatmeal, not cook the fish through.
Remove the fish from the pan into a flat fireproof dish.
Finely chop the onion. Combine with the chopped parsnip and fry in butter until onion is golden. Remove from heat and pack over and around the fish.
Sprinkle the dish of fish with fresh mixed herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour over the strained court bouillon (which should be golden if you are using saffron).
Cover and bake for 40 minutes at 350 F
Remember, add a photo of your Golden Cod (or whatever fish you choose) in the comments of this week’s recipe post on the Colony of Avalon’s Facebook page for a chance to win weekly and grand prizes. Up for grabs this week? A copy of the beautiful new publication Taking a Chance: The First 25 Years of Fishers Loft Inn by John and Peggy Fisher. It’s a stunning coffee table book that chronicles the origins and growth of the now famous Newfoundland inn and includes 80 recipes from their kitchen (copies also available from the Colony of Avalon Giftshop ;-)
