A typical recipe of Ligurian cuisine based on stockfish and potatoes called “brandacujun”; in restaurants it is served both as an appetizer and as a main course; you can also buy brandacujun in delis and rotisseries.
The recipe for creamed stockfish is very easy to make even at home. It has ancient origins, apparently dating back to 1400 when Genoa was queen of the sea and maintained numerous trade with northern Europe, from which the stockfish came. Ligurian sailors ate stockfish during their long trips, it seems that the name of the recipe derives from the term brandare dialect, that is shake: usually this fundamental operation for the success of the recipe was performed by the most cujun (dumb in Genoese dialect) of the group, that is, the most belinone (go to the most famous words in Genoese dialect), to remain in dialectal terms.
Creamed stockfish with potatoes: “brandacujun” recipe
- 1,5 lb soaked stockfish
- 1 lb potatoes
- pitted taggiasca olives
- 2 cloves of garlic
- parsley
- black pepper
- dried tomatoes
- virgen extra oil
- salt
Peel the potatoes, wash them, cut them in half and put them in a pot with the stockfish. Cover everything with water and put to cook for about an hour, until potatoes and stockfish will not be soft. At the end of cooking add the two cloves of garlic.
Drain everything, remove the bones and skin of the stockfish and then cut it into small pieces, until chopped; also crush the potatoes and garlic with a fork.
Stir in the oil in a stockfish pot, potatoes and garlic, add the taggiasca olives, dried tomatoes if you like, parsley, pepper and salt. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and start to shake the pot from top to bottom with an energetic movement, until the ingredients are well blended and have a creamy consistency.
