Stockfish with peas, apple and raisins

The original recipe

The recipe is from the third volume of the Ghent convolute KANTL Gent 15 (vol.3, recipe 309 according to the numbering of Braekman).

Item om stockvis te stoven

Item neemt aretnat ende wat boter oft olij dan neemt eenen appel ende een hooft iuns ende een goet deel rosijnen ende wat greijn ende peper ende poeder ende laetet daermede stoven ende als ghijt oprijcht dan stroijt daar geijnberpoeder op.

To braise stockfish.

Take liquid from peas and some butter or oil. Then take an apple and an onion and a lot of raisins, and grains of paradise, pepper and fine spices. Let it braise with this, and sprinkle with ginger powder when you serve it.

Modern adaptation of the recipe

Real stockfish is just dried, not salted. So it is not identical to clipfish or bacelaõ that is salted as well as dried. Try to find the real thing, and try to buy pre-hammered stockfish that you only have to soak and clean.

As main course for 2 persons, as first course for 4 persons; preparation in advance 36 hours; preparation 1 hour.

Stockfish with peas, apple and raisinsIngredients

100 gram (3.5 oz) stockfish (after soaking and cleaning this will be about 200 gram or 7 oz fish meat)

75 gram (1/2 cup) split peas or dried green peas

5 deciliter (2 cups) water

3 Tbsp butter, olive oil or rapeseed oil

1 cup dried apple

1 large onion, sliced

550 gram (1/3 cup) raisins

1/2 tsp each of pepper and grains of paradise

1/2 tsp together of cinnamon, cloves, mace, ratio 2:1:1 (this is the powder)

To finish it

ginger powder

Preparation in advance

36 hours before you start cooking, so the morning of the day before you want to eat this dish as supper, put the stockfish in water. Change the water about every eight hours. After this, remove the skin and pick out all the bones.

If you use whole green peas, you'll have to soak those too for a night. And when you cook them, you'll have to remove the skins (see this recipe for stock for Lent). Split peas do not need to soak and the skins have already been removed. Cook the green peas or split peas until almost done: split peas 30 minutes, whole peas 45 minutes (and remove the skins).

Preparation

Fry the onion in butter or oil. Add stockfish and apple, fry for a little longer. Then add the boiled peas with the remain liquid and the spices, stir well, and simmer for twetny to thirty minutes. Add the raisins ten minutes before the end.

To serve

This is a typical winter dish. With butter for the weekly fish days, with oil for Lent. Just as with pea soup, this dish thickens overnight. I preferred it on the day of cooking.

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