Cod with potatoes and tomato sauce from Mount Athos
On Mount Athos, meat eating is completely absent and even on Easter Day fish dishes are preferred. Fried salted cod with potatoes is a dish that is often served at the bank on major holidays. Check out an authentic recipe from the Orchard of Panagia and from the late cook from monk Epifanios. Salted cod or codfish fillets with potatoes and a rich tomato sauce. A food slowly cooked in the pot, but in the monasteries it is cooked in the traditional pan, over the fire.
First, we salt the cod. See how in this recipe.
We peel the potatoes, wash them and cut them into large chunky pieces.
We spread the potatoes on one side of a wide pot, preferably non-stick.
On the other side, we spread the pieces of salted cod.
We pour cold water into the pot to cover the pieces of cod well and put it on a very high heat.
As soon as the pieces of cod and potatoes begin to boil, we remove the foam with a slotted spoon.
We add the onions, whole garlic cloves, olive oil, bay leaves and black peppercorns to the pot.
We let the contents of the pot boil for about 45 minutes.
At the same time, we put the tomato paste in a bowl together with half a glass of water and mix well.
We add the red pepper, oregano, cinnamon, cumin and vinegar to the bowl and mix very well.
After 45 minutes, we lower the temperature and add the red sauce to the pot little by little.
We let the food boil for another quarter of an hour on very low heat, shaking the pot now and then.
At the end, we add the lemon juice, shake the pot again, remove the food from the heat and sprinkle with the parsley.
We never mix the food. We shake the pot slightly by the handles so that the cod does not dissolve. Caution! We salt the food only if necessary because cod can be quite salty.
