Cod with pil pil sauce Preparation

It is a traditional dish from the Basque Country (El Pais Vasco), a region of northern Spain. It is made with salt cod, garlic, peppers, chilli and olive oil, and constant motion allows the olive oil and salt cod to emulsify into the fantastic pil-pil sauce.


Heat the olive oil in a pan, Sauté the garlic until the slices are golden remove and set aside. Clean the chilli and cut into 4 pieces sauté the chilli for a few minutes and put away.In the same oil add the cod (first skin side up). Fry over medium heat for approximately 4 minutes each side then place it on a plate. The fish will release its juice and this juice will mix with the oil and will form a thick emulsion.


How to prepare the pil pil sauce, place the emulsion in another bowl wait until the oil is lukewarm, when it is warm add a little bit of oil and a small amount of the thick emulsion in the pan and stir with a sieve with slow movements. Add slowly the rest of the oil. When you have already added the half of the oil add the rest of the sauce stirring constantly with the sieve. Mix in the rest of the oil while continuing to stir the pil-pil sauce will thicken. Add the pieces of cod and warm them up.


Note: The salted cod fish must be soaked in water for AT LEAST 24 hours, though preferably 48 hours before cooking. This is necessary to leach out the salt. Change the water 2-3 times in a 24-hour period. If this is not done, the fish will be so salty that it will not be edible. Begin by cutting the cod into smaller pieces, so that it has more area to absorb the water.


 

 

Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 min
Difficulty: Medium

  •  4 pieces of cod  

     5 Diced garlic cloves
    ½ Chili 
    100 ml Olive Oil 
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