Leek and cod stew

Virginia, from Sweet&Sour, brings us a typical dish from Basque cuisine, porrusalda, in its fullest, tastiest, most delicious version. It is a complete and healthy dish that, served piping hot, is perfect for winter days.

Porrusalda is a traditional dish from the Basque Country and Navarra, which basically consists of a leek and potato soup. In fact, "Porrusalda" in Euskera means leek (porru) broth (salda). It is a dish from humble cooking, which first appears in a cookbook under this name around 1930, although already in the 19th century it featured in collections of “leek and potato soups” without a specific name.

Le Creuset cast iron cocotte

But don't be mistaken: despite being a simple dish, the orthodoxy around it sparks more than one debate.

If we only look at the leek, some people use only the white part while others, like me, like to add a small portion of the leek's green area. In my case, not only for the flavor but also for the color it brings to the dish.

But the debates don't end there. The main one revolves around whether traditional porrusalda should include soaked cod or not. And don't think this is a trivial matter — supporters and opponents of using cod are almost equally divided.

To the basic leek-and-potato porrusalda people usually add carrot, pumpkin and, sometimes, as I said to give it a livelier touch, an oreja (the thinnest part of the cod) of desalinated and soaked cod, and even pork rib.

In any case, adding protein turns it into a very complete dish, ideal for winter evenings and for saving money during the usual January squeeze. It is a pleasure and very comforting to enjoy it hot on winter nights. A healthy, economical and light dish that you can have ready in 20 minutes.

Today's porrusalda will be more complete, since in addition to leek and potato we will add carrot for color, and soaked cod to give it that lively touch and turn it into a full meal.

Let's go with the recipe!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 servings)

4 large leeks cut into thick slices
4 medium potatoes broken into pieces
1 carrot in slices
Salt and black pepper freshly ground
Extra virgin olive oil (AOVE)
1 oreja of desalinated soaked cod cut into three pieces.
1 liter water

PREPARATION

We clean the leeks well and remove the roots and any remaining dirt. These you see are farmhouse-grown, just picked from the garden in the morning and the flavor is incomparable.

To clean the leek, make a cross-shaped cut with a knife where the green area begins. This way you reach practically all the leaves and the dirt comes out very well under the tap water.

We cut them into thick slices, about one and a half finger wide, but that can still be eaten in one bite.

We peel and cut the potatoes into medium pieces. Like the leek, they should be bite-sized. When cutting the potatoes it's better to break them, to allow the potato starch to come out and thicken the broth.

We peel and cut the carrots into thick diagonal slices (as said, bite-sized).

We put our Le Creuset iron casserole on the heat with a tablespoon of AOVE over medium heat. Add the leek and sweat it slightly, then the potato and carrot and sauté again without letting anything brown.

Cover with the water, raise the heat to medium-high until it begins to boil. At that moment lower the heat to medium, half-cover with the lid and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, until we see that the potato is cooked.

A couple of minutes before the potato is done, add the soaked cod cut into 4 pieces. Cover the casserole and let cook over very low heat. The cod should not be overcooked, as it is cod cured with salt, and excessive cooking will make it tough.

Check the salt level, since the cod adds its own, and adjust with salt and freshly ground pepper. Done.

Serve the porrusalda immediately (in some soup tureens the presentation is excellent). Although, to be honest, I like it even more after a day of resting, when the potato has slightly thickened the broth and the flavors of the vegetables and cod have settled.

Tips:

- Instead of water you can use broth made from cooking the cod skin and bones. But water, in my opinion, is enough.

- I like to thicken the broth a bit by crushing one or two of the potatoes with a fork. Or even removing some of the vegetables and potato, pureeing them and adding them back to the porrusalda.

Enjoy.
Virginia