RICHMOND, Va – Executive Chef John Maxwell, MBS, CEC, CCE, AAC demonstrated how to make morue à la provençale. The classic french dish uses codfish with a sauce of tomatoes, garlic black olives and sweet red peppers.
Moule (Cod) Provençal
Adapted from a recipe of August Escoffier in his book, Ma Cuisine.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb salt cod fillet cut into four pieces Soak the cod filets in clear, cold water overnight, changing the water two or three times.
2 clove of garlic
1 cup finely sliced onion
2 cups diced sweet red peppers
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups diced or concasse tomatoes
1 cup pitted oil cured black olives cut in half
1 tablespoon. of capers in vinegar, roughly chopped
Add 2 tablespoons minced herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary)
Procedure
Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan. Sear the fish filets so they brown on one side. Turn them over and sear the other side. Remove them from the pan.
Add more olive oil, if needed. Sate the garlic until it begins to brown. Add the onions and sweet peppers. Allow them to cook until just soft. Add the tomatoes and shake the pan to distribute them. Add about 2 ounces of dry white wine, the capers, and the olives. Shake the pan.. Add the cod filets to the pan and let them simmer in the sauce for a minute or two.
Plate the dish with seasoned boiled rice nesting the fish filet in the rice and adding the sauce over. Garnish with sprigs of herbs.
For More information on Chef Maxwell visit www.chefjohnmaxwell.com
