Brandade

This dish is part of the traditional “lean dinner” on Christmas Eve. The delicious, fluffy mixture is served warm in a thin puff pastry shell called vol-au-vent or garnished with crisp croutons and truffles; or served cold, simply stuffed in tomato halves and garnished with little black olives.

Traditionally, the cod was crushed in a marble mortar with the milk and oil to form a smooth paste, which became creamy-white when heated. I use an electric blender—a much quicker and