Salt Codfish Balls
Scandinavians are geniuses when it comes to preserving food, no doubt a result both of their seafaring history and their short growing season. Although not always easy to find in the United States outside of ethnic markets, salt codfish (in Swedish, torsk) pays tribute to a culinary art that is sometimes too often dismissed in this age of sub-zero freezers. Whether salted or dried (in which case it is called "stockfish"), cod gains a particular depth of flavor during the preservation process – and salt cod is thus a favorite ingredient in several European cuisines.
So … even though it looks like cardboard … how does one get the kids to eat their salt cod and grow up into big, strong Vikings?
One way is to make torskebuller, salt codfish balls. Easy to prepare, these lightly fried fish balls are several cuts above commercially frozen fish sticks and are an excellent entrée for an easy summer dinner.
Torskebuller image; 2009 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.
Comments
Thank you Kari. I love salt cod in all its permutations. In France it comes as a paste to eat on bread…an alternative to pate called brandade. In the north, they call it “le stockfish” where its mixed with mashed potatoes and cream and eaten as a main dish with a nice green salad and garlicky dressing. But this fish balls sound like the ultimate decadent fishy treat! Yum…but where did you get the salt cod?