Yamdankee's baked potatoes with creamed fish

In my great-great-grandmother’s day, cod was unimaginably plentiful and easily preserved by salt-curing, so it was a year-round dietary staple.  Potatoes grew reliably in our acidic soil and also kept well over the winter.

Thus were potatoes topped with a thick salt-cod cream sauce a fairly common cold-weather supper – most definitely not low-fat or low-calorie, but back then it was about keeping bellies as warm and full as possible. 

The weather is turning here, with frosty evenings that call for a warm fire and old-fashioned comfort foods.  Some leftover CSF pollock was at hand last night and made a nice substitute for cod in my version of this dish.   

(Apologies to my great-great-grandmother for the inclusion of cayenne.  I believe cayenne was one of the things she foreswore when she signed the WCTU pledge.)

  (more bad food photography)

Yamdankee’s baked potatoes with creamed fish

3 cups whole milk

1 small onion, diced fine

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Salt & pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

1 ½ lb. cod or other thick white fish, cooked, cooled & flaked (one good-sized fillet should do it)

2 eggs

6 slices bacon

¼ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup all-purpose flour

4 baked potatoes

In a large saucepan, combine the milk, onion, parsley, garlic powder, cayenne, bay leaf and salt & pepper to taste.  Simmer for ½ hour or until onion is soft. 

Meanwhile, hard-boil and shred the eggs.  Cook and crumble the bacon.

In separate saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and whisk in the flour.  Cook until bubbly; do not brown.  Gradually stir a little of the hot milk mixture into the roux until it’s of blendable consistency, then add it to the hot milk mixture and whisk to combine; continue stirring over medium heat until thickened.  Add the fish and shredded eggs; heat through. 

Spoon sauce over hot baked potatoes and top with crumbled bacon.

Serves 4 very generously.