How the French Cook Salt Cod

Dishes based on salt cod can be found all over France. In the Périgord region cooked salt cod is mashed with potatoes, garlic, eggs, and walnut oil and baked into a kind of savory cake. In a Basque dish, morue basquaise, salt cod is simmered with onions, peppers, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs, and the cod is flaked and everything combined into a kind of coarse stew. In Provence, meaty chunks of salt cod are served en ratïo. A ratio is a sauce made with red wine, tomatoes, aromatic vegetables, a big bouquet garni, and a few crushed walnuts. The sauce is thickened with roux, strained, and finished with chopped olives and capers. In Brittany, puréed beans replace the potatoes in a kind of brandade made with tuna preserved in brine instead of salt cod. The mixture is sprinkled with cheese and breadcrumbs and served as a gratin.