Cod fries. Cuban recipe

How to make cod fries . Cuban gastronomy is slowly appearing in Spain. Several Cuban restaurants in Madrid have opened my eyes to a tasty and resourceful cuisine.

I usually go to have coffee near home, where Johan and Juan Carlos, 2 Cuban Cubans who can’t, explain their customs and what they eat in Cuba. When they told me that there are not many recipes prepared with fish on the island , I was surprised. They are much more meat, although without many excesses that are not there for every day. The Cuban sandwich or the Cuban-style rice will surely sound familiar to you, although what is prepared in Cuba on special days are the cod fries .

Cod is not a food that is very present on the tables of Cubans, but if they get a little cod they prepare this delicious recipe. Some fritters that, as they say, are made with Castilla flour (wheat flour) and corn flour. Although you can find them on the island with a coating of cassava flour, taro and even more sweets.

In the book “ Delicias de la Mesa. Cooking and Pastry Manual ”by María Antonieta Reyes Gavilán y Moenck, published in 1925 in Havana, Cuba, we find this recipe that I have used as a base to prepare these Cuban cod fries. Very similar to Easter cod fritters .

“The cod is parboiled, once soft it is poured into cold water to soften it, the skins and bones are removed, it is minced in the machine, Castile flour is added, two raw eggs, parsley, a little juice of onion, two tablespoons of broth and pepper, mix well and taste salt, fry in butter or very hot oil pouring it into the pan by teaspoons. ”

A very simple Cuban recipe, ideal for the little ones, since they have clean fish without bones. I encourage you to present them with a sauce, a homemade mayonnaise , tomato sauce or some variation such as a sauce with a spicy touch. Remember that you have to eat them fresh and warm. 

Preparation of the ingredients for cod fries

This recipe is to make about 35 fries approximately. So they will give you for everyone to try a family meal.

1. We begin preparing the ingredients, we finely chop the onion and we go through the flakes or the cod fillets.
2. Remember that if it comes salted you have to leave the cod immersed in water for at least 48 hours and make water changes every 6 hours approximately.
3. Once desalinated, keep it in the fridge until its preparation. If you do it like I do, starting with some cod loins, we crumble them well with our hands, trying to keep small pieces. We go over them to make sure they don’t have a thorn.
4. In a small bowl, sift the flour through a strainer and add two dessert spoons of chemical yeast powder. Mix well and reserve.
5. In the same casserole where we are going to make our fried dough. We are going to poach the pieces of onion in a little oil.
6. In about five minutes over medium low heat we will have the almost transparent onion pieces. It is the exact point to add the cod and put it on high heat for a minute. Stirring with a spoon or spatula so that it does not stick to the casserole.
7. We remove from the fire. Optionally we can add parsley, mint or fresh coriander. We put all the ingredients together, remove from the casserole and reserve for the final process.

Preparation of the fried dough

1. We put a saucepan over the medium heat with the water and the butter. As soon as it starts to boil, remove and with a spatula, stir it so that it melts completely and integrates with the liquid.
2. We put the sifted flour with the touch of the yeast in one go and bring it back to the fire.
3. Stir with a wooden spoon until you get a homogeneous mass, a smooth cream and without lumps.
4. If we see that there is any lump of flour, do not worry, little by little it will disappear. The heat will end up making it integrate into the dough.
5. In the end it will be like a compact ball. It has to be peeled off the sides of the pot until it appears to be completely dry.
6. We turn off the heat and remove the casserole with the dough that we will just make out of the fire. Let it warm for a few minutes before adding the eggs.
7. There should be a mixture with a texture between a cream and a puree, well integrated and without lumps. If it is too thick, you can add a little water and stir again.
8. We add the eggs one by one and stir in such a way that, until the first is integrated, the second is not added.
9. Once we have the base mass prepared, we add the cod compango and carefully stir it so that it integrates.
10. Let it rest for about 15-20 minutes, it is better to be warm before frying.

Frying. Final presentation of cod fries

1. The best thing is that in the first batch to check the temperature of the oil is to fry one and taste. If it is bland, add a little salt and mix, so everything is solved.
2. After 20 minutes of rest, we put to heat over medium heat a frying pan with plenty of neutral oil so that it does not add more flavor to the dough.
3. With the help of two teaspoons, we form small balls with the dough that we will fry.
4. The difficulty of this recipe is in the temperature of the oil, since if it is not hot enough the dough falls to the bottom. We must try to keep it afloat. Although if it is too hot, a dry envelope forms around the frying that prevents it from growing.
5. Also, if the oil is very hot, they will brown very quickly and will be raw inside. The first batch will serve us to try the following ones and they will be delicious.
6. We throw the skillet little by little as they will increase in size. When they are golden brown, remove the cod fries from an absorbent paper.
7. Once drained, the ideal is to eat them warm to enjoy the spongy dough. I also like cold but well, better hot.

Be sure to enjoy the fantastic recipes with fish that we have on the blog. You can see all the step by step photos of the cod fry recipe  in this album.

Cod fries from Venezuela

• Today I had a pleasant surprise, from Venezuela .  Aurora Lemus  sent me an email with the photos of this recipe recently. You can see that they have a great time, they ate them on the beach.
• I am a lover of traditional cuisine, I like to experiment, merge and reinvent dishes without leaving behind my Venezuelan customs.
• I read your recipe for cod fries and ventured to prepare them for my husband and our children. The result, a plate of licking fingers for everyone, were super delighted.
• It is a recipe that at the beginning seems not to be easy, but that goes, it was a pleasure and enjoyment making them for Easter Sunday, where we tasted them on the shore of the beach and with the aroma of the sea. Thank you very much for filling us with so much flavor.