050Fried salt cod with skordalia

Method

Crisp beer batter with potato skordalia. A traditional green salad of boiled horta or raw cabbage makes the ideal accompaniment.

You will need

• deep heavy frying pan or Dutch oven
• mortar and pestle or potato masher
• slotted spoon or spider
• wire rack or kitchen paper

1. Note that the salt cod must be soaked in abundant cold water in the fridge for 36 to 48 hours before cooking, changing the water 3 to 4 times a day. Ready when: fish is plump, tender, and desalted
2. Boil the potato chunks in salted water for 15 to 20 minutes until thoroughly tender when pierced with a fork, then drain well and let steam dry for 3 minutes. 20 min Ready when: potatoes mash easily with no resistance
3. Pound the crushed garlic to a paste in a mortar, or add to a bowl with the warm potatoes, and mash vigorously with a potato masher. 3 min Ready when: potatoes broken down into a smooth, thick mash
4. Gradually incorporate the olive oil and red wine vinegar in alternating thin streams into the potatoes, beating continuously until a fluffy, emulsified dip forms; season with salt to taste and set aside at room temperature. 4 min Ready when: skordalia is glossy, creamy, and holds its shape
5. Whisk together the plain flour, cornflour, and a pinch of salt in a shallow bowl, then pour in the chilled beer, whisking gently until a smooth batter the thickness of double cream forms. 3 min Ready when: batter coats the back of a spoon cleanly
6. Pat the soaked cod pieces completely dry with paper towels so the batter adheres securely. 2 min Ready when: fish surface is dry to the touch
7. Heat 3 to 4 cm of vegetable oil in a deep heavy pan over medium-high heat until it reaches 180°C (355°F), or until a drop of batter sizzles immediately. 5 min · 180°C / 355°F Ready when: oil is shimmering and produces immediate bubbles
8. Dip the cod pieces into the batter to coat thoroughly, then lower them gently into the hot oil in batches without crowding the pan. 1 min · 180°C / 355°F Ready when: batter puffs vigorously around each piece
9. Fry the cod for 3 to 4 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp, turning once, then lift out onto a wire rack or kitchen paper to drain. 7 min · 180°C / 355°F Ready when: crust is rigid and crisp, interior fish flakes cleanly
10. Serve the hot fried cod immediately alongside the skordalia and fresh lemon wedges. 1 min Ready when: steaming hot fish served with cool room-temperature dip

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Make ahead and storing

Skordalia can be made several hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature.

The fish must be eaten straight after frying. Skordalia keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Substitutions

• stale white bread for floury potatoes. Crustless stale white bread soaked in water and squeezed dry makes the classic bread-based skordalia variant.
• sparkling water for chilled lager or soda water. Chilled sparkling mineral water yields an equally light, crisp batter.

Common mistakes

• Using a food processor to make potato skordalia. The mechanical blades break down the potato starches into a gummy, gluey paste rather than a fluffy emulsion.
• Rushing the cod desalting period. If not soaked long enough with regular water changes, the fish will be unpleasantly salty and tough.

Regional variants

• In the Ionian islands and parts of the Peloponnese, skordalia is made with soaked stale bread and ground walnuts instead of potatoes.

About the dish

Preserved Atlantic salt cod became a staple in Greece from the late nineteenth century onward, providing inland and mountain communities with affordable fish. Traditionally, the Orthodox Church permits fish consumption twice during Great Lent: on the Annunciation (25 March, also Greek Independence Day) and on Palm Sunday. On these days, crisp battered salt cod paired with a pungent garlic mash or dip remains an almost universal ritual across the nation.

Found in all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, lent, sunday lunch.

Cousins elsewhere

• Baccalà fritto (Italian). Salt cod battered and fried in oil, widely eaten across central and southern Italy.
• Toum (Levantine). An intense garlic and oil emulsion, though whipped without the starchy potato or bread base found in skordalia.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

2181 kcal · protein 134.8 g · fat 143.6 g (saturated 20.7 g) · carbohydrate 80.2 g (sugars 2 g) · fibre 5.6 g · sodium 14070 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. The nationwide 25th of March holiday tradition combining crisp deep-fried salt cod with garlic dip..