Salted Cod Potato Puree and then some!

Hello everyone! How are you?  I have been completely absent from blogging for nearly two months. Where has the time gone? I have missed it but honestly I was just busy at work and I chose to destress a bit simply by reading and cooking. The first term for teachers is a bit crazy not only because of grading etc, but also because of the Christmas shows, rehearsals and exceptionally nevous and excited children! God love them though, my students worked really hard and did a great job. I teach third and fourth grade English and it was not so easy or them to sing Christmas songs in English (Mary`s Boy Child and Joy to the World) but they did it. I was so proud of them.

Now I can relax a bit and share some of the recipes from my cooking group Cookthebookfridays . I have been lax in posting the recipes but have been making them.  I will start with the salt cod and potato puree.

This is a lovely recipe from David Lebovitz´s My Paris Kitchen . It is easy to make and it was not hard to find good quality salted cod. Living in Spain, salted cod, also known as bacalao, is a specialty. You can buy it in two ways. Dry and salted, which you have to soak in water for at least 24 hours and change the water several times, or you can buy it already desalted and ready to cook. I did the latter. There were very few bones in it and it was easy peasy to prepare. Once it is ready, you serve it on some gorgeous crusty bread and you are in culinary heaven.

I know that not everyone is keen on salty fish but I can assure you that this dish is not at all salty. It is wonderful. My husband served me a glass of Spanish cava (That is like champagne but much, much cheaper) and we had a lovely afternoon watching a movie and munching away! If you are interested in this recipe, you can find a link here.  You canb´t go wrong with this. What i would say is that this is not a light appetizer so don´t dfollow it with anything heavy. We had it as a main meal for lunch followed by a salad.

The next recipe is a gorgeous onion tart also known as pissaladiére. This is just wonderful. I know i always seem to say the same thing about David Lebovitz´s recipes so it seems like an exaggeration, but really, they are that good! 

This recipe is very easy and in my opinion, really beautiful to look at! The black olives, anchovies and onions look so beautiful! Yes, it tastes great too! I love the smell of the onions frying and getting caramelised.

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Dot with the olives, lay the anchovies, over the top and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

Once again, I was lucky with this recipe because it involved oil packed anchovies, which are another specialty in Spain.  We enjoyed it with a glass of pink Lambrusco and we had a ball. Let´s face it, aren´t we all very happy when we are eating and drinking well?;) the next time i make this, I will be sure to make the crust just a bit thinner. This can be served as a main dish or cut into squares for a nice tapa. A recipe for this can be found here.

I mentioned that we had the salt cod and potato puree with a salad. That salad was David Lebovitz´s carrot salad which sounds boring but is far from it. What makes the grated carrot salad so special is the lovely Dijon mustard vinaigrette. An option is to add avocado and / or beets.

I know these photos are not the best but i can tell you that this salad is lovely. I have a weakness for all these vegetables so I was quite happy! I could easily make this a lunch or a dinner! The recipe can be found here.

Finally, I made a dulce de leche tart. This was the first time that I had made a chocolate crust! 

I think this recipe is perefect for those who really like very sweet treats! I don´t mind them but I find them overpowering. My husband however, was thrilled!

The layer of dulce de leche at the bottom was quite nice though!

I am looking forward to getting back on track with my blogging and checking out what my blogging friends have been up to. I hope all of you have had a wonderful holdiday with your friends and family.

All the best,

Natascha