Cape Cod Turkey | The Foodie Pilgrim

By John, 26 November, 2020

Region

Description

There's no turkey in this dish! Cape Cod Turkey is a classic 18th-19th Century New England fish dish made with fresh or salt cod and dressed with white sauce and hard-boiled egg. It's a close relative of the smokey Finnan Haddie.

The version described here is made with salt cod, which would have been common in most of New England more than a short distance from the coast. Salt Cod, even after it's been freshened, has a denser, meatier texture than fresh cod.

Yield

4 Servings

Preparation time

45 minutes

Ingredients

16 oz Salt Cod (freshened overnight in cold water)

8 oz Bacon

8 small boiling potatoes

1 Hard-Boiled Eggs (sliced)

1 c Bechamel Sauce

1 pn Dried Chervil (or parsley)

Instructions

The fish must first be freshened overnight in cold fresh water. Some recipes say it's OK to boil the fish in three changes of water, but then it's still salty and tough. Just set it in a big bowl of fresh water in the sink overnight, and change the water a couple of times if it tastes salty.
Boil the potatoes until tender.
Cook the bacon and crumble it.
Simmer the fish until flaky, about 10 minutes.
Prepare the Bechamel sauce.
To serve, put the fish on a serving platter, surround it with the potatoes, garnish with the sliced egg and the crumbled bacon.

Source

Traditional