Recipe: Salt Cod Brandade with Green Asparagus

Name: Salt Cod Brandade with Green Asparagus
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 25 oz (700 g) salt cod fillet; 2.1 cups (50 cl) milk; 1 bay leaf; a small pinch of thyme flowers; 4 garlic cloves (Lautrec rose variety if possible); 0.4 cup (10 cl) olive oil; 1 bunch green asparagus (16 oz (450 g)); 3.5 oz (100 g) pitted black olives; 3 or 4 large spinach leaves, washed and thinly sliced; 0.8 cup (20 cl) heavy cream; salt and freshly ground pepper

By chef patrick Asfaux 4/5 (4 reviews)

Recipe Salt Cod Brandade with Green Asparagus - Chef Patrick Asfaux — Photo: Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 15 min

Cook 45 min

Total 1h

Servings 4 serv.

700 grams of salt cod poached in milk for 30 minutes, then blended with olive oil and cooked garlic cloves. You get a thick, velvety purée that you enrich with finely sliced green asparagus and a creamy spinach sauce. It's springtime, it's rich, it's easy to plate.

Ingredients for 4 servings

Adjust for

servings

25 oz (700 g) salt cod fillet
2.1 cups (50 cl) milk
1 bay leaf
a small pinch of thyme flowers
4 garlic cloves (Lautrec rose variety if possible)
0.4 cup (10 cl) olive oil
1 bunch green asparagus (16 oz (450 g))
3.5 oz (100 g) pitted black olives
3 or 4 large spinach leaves, washed and thinly sliced
0.8 cup (20 cl) heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step directions

1 Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil.

2 Peel your asparagus and tie them together like a small bunch, then cook them keeping them crispy. Cool them in ice water, lay them on paper towels and keep them chilled.

3 Pour the milk into a saucepan with the whole, deseeded garlic cloves, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper. Let cook for 5 minutes. Attention: always put a spoonful of water at the bottom when you bring milk to a boil, this will prevent it from sticking to the pan.

4 Place the salt cod in the pan, then bring back to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Wait half an hour before draining it, keeping the cooked garlic cloves.

5 Pour the salt cod (watch out for bones) into the blender with the cooked garlic cloves, salt, pepper, 1.7 fl oz (5 cl) of heavy cream and the olive oil. Blend for 15 seconds (no more) and transfer your mixture to a saucepan.

6 Cut off the green tips of your asparagus, slice the stems as finely as possible and add them to the brandade.

7 For the sauce, bring the rest of the heavy cream to a boil with salt and pepper. Add a hint of minced garlic and your spinach leaves, bring back to a boil then blend and keep this sauce warm in a bain-marie.

8 Finely chop your black olives and set aside.

9 Pan-fry your asparagus tips in butter for 10 seconds just to warm them through. To plate: heat your brandade, then using a round cutter, portion it into your 4 beautiful plates (preferably dark-colored). Top each little cake with chopped black olives, then stick the asparagus tips in head-up like a porcupine, and pour the vibrant green sauce around it. The beauty of this salt cod brandade lies in the black and green colors and especially in the blended flavors that will, I'm sure, delight your guests at a spring dinner.

A chef's advice

In the Mediterranean, coastal kitchens prepare different brandades depending on what they find at the market. This one, with its fresh green asparagus and black olives, leans toward the Provençal south. But take a look at Catalonia: there, they often replace the asparagus with roasted red peppers and add a pinch of saffron to the cream. Two approaches, two regions, one same basic technique.