Morue à la Lyonnaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) wide skillet
• •3-quart (2.8 L) nonreactive bowl for soaking
• •3-quart (2.8 L) saucepan
• •Wide fish spatula
• •2-quart (1.9 L) shallow serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Desalt the morue

   Rinse the dry-salted cod under cold water to remove its surface salt, then place it in a nonreactive bowl and cover generously with cold water. Refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water 3 or 4 times. After 24 hours, cut off a thumbnail-sized morsel and simmer it in fresh water for one minute before tasting. It should remain pleasantly saline but not sting the tongue. If it is still fierce, return the remaining cod to fresh cold water for another 4 to 6 hours. Ça se rattrape, but the extra soak cannot be hurried.

   Thin tail pieces desalt faster than thick center cuts. The cooked test morsel tells you more than any fixed soaking time.
2. 2

   Poach it gently

   Put the drained morue in a saucepan and cover it by 1 inch with fresh cold water. Bring the water slowly to just below a simmer, watching for a faint movement around the edge rather than a rolling boil. Lower the heat and poach for 8 to 10 minutes, until the flesh is opaque and separates readily along its natural flakes. If the water begins boiling, lift the pan from the heat and add a splash of cold water at once; the temperature will settle before the cod tightens.

3. 3

   Flake and dry

   Drain the morue and let it cool only until your fingers can handle it. Remove the skin and every bone, then separate the flesh into generous flakes rather than crumbs. Spread them on a clean towel and blot carefully. Dry fish takes on the butter's gloss in the final toss; wet fish releases water and leaves the potatoes limp.

4. 4

   Soften the onion

   Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a wide 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced onion and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft, sweet, and pale gold at the edges. Do not take it to a dark caramel. Scrape the onion and its butter into a bowl, leaving any light golden film in the skillet.

5. 5

   Sauté the roundels

   Melt another tablespoon of butter in the same skillet. Lay in the potato roundels, with only a little overlap, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes, turning them carefully as their undersides turn gold. They are ready when a knife enters without resistance but the slices still hold their shape. If they brown before becoming tender, add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of water and cover for 2 minutes, then uncover and let every drop evaporate before continuing. The potatoes are rescued, and their edges can still color.

6. 6

   Toss over brisk heat

   Transfer the potatoes to the bowl with the onions. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter with all the neutral oil. When the butter foams and smells nutty but has not darkened, return the potatoes and onions, then add the flaked morue. Toss over brisk heat for 3 to 4 minutes, turning with a broad spatula so the potatoes take a little more color and the cod heats through. If the fish begins breaking into small pieces, stop shaking the skillet and turn the mixture in broad sections; the flavor is intact, and generous flakes will remain.

7. 7

   Finish with vinegar

   Take the skillet off the heat. Sprinkle over half the vinegar, toss once, and taste before adding the rest drop by drop. You should notice brightness, not sourness, and the cod will usually supply all the salt the dish needs. Fold in most of the parsley. Empty and dry a serving bowl warmed with hot water, spoon in the morue, and finish with the remaining parsley. Bring it straight to the table while the butter still gleams. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose true dry-salted cod, preferably Icelandic or Newfoundland as the source entry specifies. Look for a thick, evenly white piece without yellowed edges or a stale, oily smell; a center cut gives the finest large flakes.
• •Use waxy yellow potatoes. Floury potatoes collapse during the final brisk toss and turn the butter cloudy, while a waxy roundel browns at the edge and stays itself.
• •A neutral oil lets the butter and onion speak. A strongly flavored olive oil changes the dish's accent and overwhelms the few drops of vinegar at the finish.
• •Do not season automatically. Salt cod keeps some salinity after soaking, and only the completed skillet can tell you whether it needs anything. Most pans will need no added salt at all.
• •Pour a dry white from the Mâconnais or a light Beaujolais blanc. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within two days, reheating gently in a covered skillet with a small piece of butter.

Advance Preparation

• •Begin soaking the morue at least one day before supper. Change the water several times and perform the cooked taste test early enough to allow another 4 to 6 hours if the fish remains too salty.
• •The morue can be poached, flaked, cooled promptly, and refrigerated in a covered container for up to one day. The onion may also be cooked several hours ahead, but sauté the potato roundels close to serving so their edges remain distinct.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)