This recipe was originally published at my first blog site nearly four years ago. This recipe was rewritten and edited in a way that required it to be republished! Much of England's traditional cooking is comfort food. Some people criticize the comfort approach to cooking. I was the chef at an English Pub kitchen for a couple of years. I ran a special du jour board of regional English, English Empirical Cuisine, Welsh, Irish, Australian and Scottish food. Our menu items were the entrees that you would expect to see at a traditional English pub. Cheddar Cod was a sellout every time that I ran this as a special du jour. This is a very filling hearty entree that is great during the cold winter months. This recipe will make you feel warm and cozy inside!
Cheddar cod is the name of this entree. When cheddar cod is on a menu board, a customer from England knows what to expect. What they do not expect is to see a free standing presentation of cheddar cod! Cheddar cod is usually made casserole style. A free standing cheddar cod is easy to make with a small pop-ring cake mold.
Sustainability issues concerning any type of cod are first on the mind of any responsible chef. Atlantic cod is nearly extinct and it will take a very long time for the numbers to rise to honest sustainable numbers. Pacific cod and ling cod are in declining numbers, so check with the latest marine biology advisories, before purchasing cod of any kind.
There are alternatives to cod. Personally, I have never liked cod, because I prefer fish that have more flavor. Pollock is a good substitute for cod. Even farmed fresh water or brackish water fish like tilapia, basa, trout or catfish can be substituted. After the cheddar smothers the fish in this recipe, it is honestly difficult to tell what kind of fish that was used to make this entree. At the English pub, where I was the chef, we served pollack as our fish and chips and the customers assumed that the fish was cod. We never had a single complaint. I also used pollack to make this cheddar cod entree, but because cod was written in the name of this entree, the waitstaff was required to disclose to customers, without being asked, the fact that pollack was substituted.
When cod and haddock took a rapid decline in numbers back in the 1980's and 1990's, we switched to pollack. Pollack needed to be fished, because the pollack population exploded. The pollack population was high, because pollack's chief competitor was cod and cod numbers were low. Pollack prefer to feed on herring, so herring numbers became low. Seals, sea lions and whales also depend on a steady diet of herring. Because herring number dwindled, sea mammals were dying from starvation.
As you can see, a chain of events occur when any fish becomes low in numbers. Some of the most ignorant people that I have ever met, just happened to be involved in the cod business or they happened to be consumers that only eat cod. The ignorance level was based on those people ignoring all the facts and continuing with their ways, even if it meant breaking the law or an extinction of a species. Many cod fisherman work locally and cod seems to be in good supply in some local areas. That does not mean that cod is in good numbers when the whole picture is viewed.
The fish used for making this entree was Pacific ling cod. At the time this recipe was originally published, ling cod was sustainable, but things have changed for the worse. Cod of any kind has not been featured in this blog for a very long time. Only fish that are sustainable are featured in my recipes and that does include regulated limited short season catch fish. Instead of demanding a fish that is near extinction, look for alternatives. That is the wise choice to make!
English Cheddar Cod Recipe:
Check cod sustainability numbers before purchasin cod of any kind! Any white meat fish can be substituted.
This recipe can be mad the old fashioned way by layering the ingredients in a casserole dish. There are no weights involved in this recipe. The object is to fill the ring mold or casserole dish with the ingredients.
Brush a small 5" to 6"pop-ring cake mold with melted unsalted butter.
Place a thin layer of thin sliced potato on the bottom of the baking dish.
Place a thin thin layer of thin sliced cod over the potatoes.
Sprinkle a thin layer of sharp cheddar cheese over the cod.
Repeat these steps, till you have three or four layers in the pop-ring mold.
Make sure that the bottom and top layers are thin sliced potato.
Insert and press thin potato slices vertically around the edge of the pop-ring mold, so the vertical slices slightly overlap. (Just slide and tuck the potato slices into place. If you need to, use a butter knife like a shim to make room to slide the vertical potato slices to slide into place.)
Do not season the casserole with salt and pepper! The flavors of this casserole are meant to be delicate and the cheddar cheese is the key flavor!
Brush the potato slices that are on top of the casserole with melted unsalted butter.
Cover the casserole with a lid or foil.
Bake the cheddar cod in a 350 degree.
Bake the casserole, till the potatoes are almost fully cooked.
Remove the casserole from the oven and uncover the casserole.
Place the cheddar cod back in the oven.
Bake the casserole, till light brown highlights appear on the edges of the top potato slices.
Set the pop-ring mold of cheddar cod on a counter top and let it cool to room temperature, so the ingredients gel and become solid. This will keep the casserole from unravelling!
Reheat the cheddar cod in a 250 degree oven, till it becomes warm.
Plating:
Place the cheddar cod pop-ring mold on a serving plate. (If you used a casserole dish to prepare this entree, then simply place the casserole dish on a plate and serve the entree.)
Let the cheddar cod cool off to about 140 degrees, before removing the the pop-ring mold rim. The cheddar cod must gel and solidify again, before unmolding or it will fall apart!
Use a metal spatula to free the base of the pop-ring mold.
Serve with buttered peas and sliced mushrooms or a vegetable of your choice.
This simple recipe is perfect for a chilly day! Yum! ... Shawna
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