Bacalao fish pie

STEP 1

Soak the salted fish in a bowl of fresh cold water for 1 to 2 days to rehydrate the flesh. The soaking time depends on the size of the fish and the hardness of your local water. There should be approx. 3 times as much water as fish in the bowl. Change the water a couple of times each day. Lightly salted fish does not need to be rehydrated.

STEP 2

Dice the fillets.

STEP 3

Boil the potatoes until tender.

STEP 4

While the potatoes are boiling, slice the shallot and garlic. Sauté the onion and garlic with the thyme in butter for a couple of minutes until the onion softens. Add the milk and fish and poach for 2-3 minutes.

STEP 5

Mash the potatoes in a bowl. Add the poached fish, onions and garlic and enough of the milk to make a soft mash.

STEP 6

Add the chopped parsley, the juice of half a lemon and mix it all together into a mash. If your mash is too dry, add more milk.

STEP 7

Add a pinch of salt, but taste first, as the level of salt in salted fish varies.

STEP 8

Cut the slices of bread into smaller pieces. Coat the pieces of bread in olive oil and grill them on a grill pan or in the oven until crisp.

STEP 9

Put the fish and potato mash into ovenproof ramekins or a dish and top with grated cheese. Melt the cheese with a torch or in the oven.

STEP 10

Garnish with chopped chives and pickled onions. Serve with the grilled pieces of bread.

Pickled red onions:

STEP 1

Slice the onions finely and put the slices into a bowl or jar.

STEP 2

Bring the water, vinegar and sugar to a boil in a saucepan.

STEP 3

Once the sugar dissolves, pour the pickle mixture over the onions.

STEP 4

Let it stand for 15 minutes and then the pickled onions are ready. The pickled onions only get better the longer they stand and can be stored for weeks.