Torrejitas de bacalao

As tradition built it

Torrejitas de bacalao

The mixture rests 2 hours to overnight before the flour goes in.

Ingredients

The mixture

• 600ml salt cod, desalted, cooked and shredded
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 120ml parsley, finely chopped
• 120ml chives, finely chopped
• 2 green ají peppers, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ají chombo, finely chopped, or hot sauce
• 1 tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 960ml water

The batter

• 1.3 litres flour
• 2 tbsp, plus 2 tsp baking powder

To fry

• for frying canola oil

Method

1. Desalt the cod: soak it 30 minutes in cold water, boil it 30 minutes, change the water and boil it 30 minutes more. Cool it and shred it with your fingers.
2. Put the cod in a bowl with the onion, parsley, chives, green ají, ají chombo, curry powder, pepper and the water. Leave it in the fridge at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. Add the flour and baking powder and mix to a fairly thick paste.
4. Drop it by spoonfuls into very hot oil and fry until golden, turning each to brown the other side.
5. Drain on paper and serve hot.

Notes

The recipe is TVN's, from its programme Hecho en Panamá; the desalting is from chef Melanie Salazar in Panamá América. Panamá América's batter is much looser, 2 cups of flour to 4 of water, with the onion and sweet pepper fried with the cod and turmeric; Recetas de Panamá colours it with achiote.

What a modern chef changes

A properly staged desalting, and a dehydrator-finished crust

Rung 05

Method

1. Desalt the cod over multiple changes of cold water across at least 24 hours, rather than a single rinse, following Rung 5's instruction that this staged rehydration is doing the seasoning work, not merely removing excess salt.
2. Grind the dried spice element, ají chombo and curry seed if using whole spice, fresh in a spice grinder just before mixing, rather than reaching for pre-ground curry powder alone.
3. Fry to a lighter colour than usual, then finish briefly in a dehydrator run hot, or a very low oven, to drive off surface moisture and firm the crust further without darkening it past the point Bramwell's own showcase version would allow.