Witchy Kitchen

Tag: egg

  • Codfish Pudding

    Codfish Pudding

    Just always be waiting for me.

    I reread Peter Pan by JM Barrie, a book I loved as a child, a couple of years ago; it was just as sweet and funny as I remembered, but it’s now layered by my adult experience. There’s some unfortunate misogyny (poor Wendy), and now knowing that it’s about the death of a child, much of it is just so unbearably sad.

    But from unbearable tragedy comes a charming and awfully big adventure, and I made a recipe to match. This is equal parts British nursery food for darling little children and the worst insult to effeminate one-handed pirates.

    I based my dish on this recipe from Cook it Simply with several adjustments in ingredients and cooking method (Do I look like I have suet? Or a pudding basin? But I got through it, oh the cleverness of me!). The result was like a crustless mini quiche – super tasty, and I think the lemon zest brought out the pleasant fishy flavor and brightened it several shades above stereotypically tasteless nursery fare.

    It was very good warm the night of, my kids loved it, and, because I am a monster who eats straight from the fridge, can offer that it was even good cold the next day.

    Codfish Pudding

    Adapted from Cook it Simply

    • 1 pound skinless cod, sliced into small cubes
    • 1 stick butter, melted
    • zest of one lemon
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • fresh cracked pepper
    • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • 2 slices bread
    • handful parsley

    Heat oven to 350° and grease a muffin tin.

    Combine cod, butter, lemon zest, salt, pepper, eggs, and milk. In a food processor, blitz bread and parsley to fine crumbs. Stir into cod mixture.

    Divide evenly between muffin cups. Place the muffin tin on a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven, and add water to the baking sheet to about three quarters full.

    Bake for one hour (start checking at 50 minutes, it’s fine for the tops to brown but if they start getting too done cover with foil) until the mixture is fairly solid. Remove to a rack and cool 15-20 minutes.

    Gently remove each pudding, I spooned around the rim to loosen it and used two spoons to lift it to the plate. They’ll get less delicate as they cool.

    Garnish with a little extra chopped parsley and serve warm, or enjoy later room temp or even cold.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Podcast Episode 45: PETER PAN, in which Carrie and Diana discuss the novel and various adaptations. Diana dreams of cakes, Carrie gets emotional, and there’s pretend feasts, medicine, panpipes and nursery food to go around.

    Lovely artwork by Renae De Liz

  • Boxty

    Boxty

    Boxty on the griddle,
    boxty on the pan,
    If you can’t make boxty,
    You’ll never get a man!

    That’s right single ladies and gentlemen! Brush up on your boxty making skills! (Or if you’re going after a Pakistani dude, make that aloo tikkia).

    Halloween as we know it originated as the Gaelic festival day of Samhain, which marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark winter. Boxty is commonly eaten through October in Ireland (says the internet) and is a perfect traditional Irish Halloween breakfast.

    These are comforting and delicious – creamy, crispy and savory potato pancakes, and much recommended for your Halloween table.

    Boxty

    Recipe from Chow

    • 3 to 4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
    • 3/4 cup whole milk
    • 1 1/4 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning the potatoes before cooking
    • 1 large egg
    • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
    • unsalted butter for the pan
    • sourcream, and green onions for garnish

    Heat the oven to 200°F.

    Chop half of the potatoes into large chunks. In a pot, salt generously and cover with an inch of cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until potatoes are tender.

    Meanwhile, grate the remaining potatoes on the large side of a box grater. Toss with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and set aside in a strainer.

    When the boiled potatoes are tender, drain and return them to the pot. Mash with 1/4 cup of the milk until smooth.

    Whisk together the egg, remaining 1/2 cup milk, flour, pepper, and remaining 1 tsp salt, add to the mashed potatoes. Press the grated potatoes with a spatula to remove any liquid, and add to the mashed potatoes, then stir everything together until evenly incorporated.

    Heat a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is ready, add enough butter to lightly coat the bottom when melted. Spoon 3 dollops (about 1/4 cup) of the batter into the pan and spread each to about 1/4 inch thick. Cook 4-5 minutes each side, until golden brown. Keep warm in the oven on a baking sheet while you repeat with the remaining butter and batter. Serve warm, with sour cream, and green onions for garnish.

    A couple tips – make sure to mash them thin so they cook well, and makes sure the heat is truly medium (had a couple that were a little past golden brown). Enjoy!