The Portuguese Escape and Bacalhau, Etc.

The Portuguese Escape by Ann Bridge, an author I have only recently discovered, then also saddened to hear she is no longer with us, in one sense anyway, but luckily her books live on!  This is the third novel of Bridge's I've read, and the second of her Julia Probyn mysteries.  What a wonderful, witty, and intelligent writer, always a delight to discover such an author!  Very highly recommended.  

From the Publishers:  "Julia Probyn, journalist and amateur sleuth, must acquaint herself with the world of counterespionage. Hetta, a young Hungarian Countess, just released from behind the Iron Curtain, is drawn into a communist plot. Together the two young women will need all of their strength to unravel the schemes and machinations closing in from all sides.

With Ann Bridge's talent for evoking place and mixing mystery with humor, The Portuguese Escape, book two in The Julia Probyn Mysteries, is full of danger and adventure amidst Communist intrigue." To put it mildly! And with romance touchingly thrown into the mix.
Of course I had to cook something from that country.  My first thought was Portuguese Bean Soup, but no too generic, I wanted something new, which brought me to a Portuguese speciality - Bacalhau - an ingredient in various preparations, and mentioned with some history, early in the novel.  Here in Hawaii it's usually spelt Bacalao, or baccala.  Bacalhau is dried and salted codfish and the Portuguese are obsessed with it! 

 

In Portugal, codfish is central in the cuisine, actually a staple food in their cooking and one of the country’s most treasured ingredients. You’ll find it everywhere you go, so revered that you’ll see shops dedicated to selling this salted fish, if you happen to be in Portugal... or actually in Porto Rico or any number of Mediterranean countries.  Not so much in the USA.  

I had heard of salt cod before, of course living in Hawaii, with our large Portuguese and Porto Rican population, not to mention the Hawaiians who were introduced to it early on by sailors.  So in the back of my mind lingered the urge to give it a try.  A local Supermarket actually had two versions; with and without bones.  Naturally I went for the boneless sort, to make life easier. Came in a cute little wooden box.  Next it must be soaked in fresh water for 48 hours, with several changes, to reduce the salt content. 

Luckily I have Mario Batali's beautiful The Babbo Cookbook, which has several dishes incorporating baccala, as spelt in it.  One sounded especially nice, Marinated Baccala with Braised Baby Fennel.  Ha! Try finding that, unless you're growing it and this happens to be when it's at the baby stage.  So I got some lovely, fresh regular size fennel to use in this recipe.

Results:  online, I had read a lot of: “ The resulting fish is pleasantly flaky in texture with an irresistibly intense and unusual—but never fishy—flavor.... This exquisite fish is just as unique as it is versatile and can be prepared in a number of ways, from appetizers to the main event.”

I would beg to differ! No discernible flavor, not even salt! (should have tasted before going a full 48 hours) Not flaky! Tough. Now I notice my Italian cookbook says to cook 5-7 minutes until tender.  Why Mario didn't you mention that??  I followed most of the directions on soaking time - 48 hrs. Per Mario and other sources. Though some did say, as our Portuguese garden guy, Ron told me, his mother only did a 24 hour soak.  

I think liking salt cod might be a cultural throwback.  I had only used half of the cod, so there would be some to try in another recipe.  I could add salt and a bit of pineapple to soften the texture. You'll notice Mario’s recipe (above) even had a 4 hr. marinating sequence! Too bad the flavor didn’t come through, except for in the fennel!  Call me frugal, but I do dislike throwing things out that are still good?  That might be the operative word.  Good?  Also, it could be that I've just not prepared it to best advantage. Or that it was junk to begin with. Decided in the end to give it to Ron.  I'll be curious to hear what he does with it.

The fennel was lovely, and so was the side of buttered sweet potatoes from our garden.  Bob gamely tried a bit of the baccala but would probably be leery of any reprise.  

On more positive September notes:  In cooking - we noticed that we had two fruiting Allspice trees in the back yard of our office in town!  That was so fantastic.  We have two trees at home, which have never flowered or produced fruit.  The interesting story is that they need to be one of each sex.  And, I have to ask, how do you tell their sex in the nursery?  The females are the ones that produce berries.  Both trees at the office were producing. So, was one of them temporarily identifying as a male?  A mystery.  But, lots of berries which I dried and put in little jars for Christmas presents.:) The fresh berries were also nice in some scones with blueberries.

A positive family note: our new great grandson born this past week!  Westley, Hurrah!! Here with his big brother, number one great grandson, Layiklun.

September in the garden note: A lovely variegated banana.  Thanks Kevin! It's doing great.

I'll be posting a link to my September happenings, cooking experiments and book review at Weekend Cooking, hosted by the Intrepid Reader, Marge, with Deb at Reader Buzz for The Sunday Salon, and with Heather at the Foodies Read Challenge. I hope you'll stop by for a visit for good recipe ideas and books.