Recipe no. 78 from Jean-Baptiste Reboul's La Cuisinière provençale (1909), page 48.
Ingredients
- salt cod
- oil
- onions
- tomatoes
- water
- thyme
- fennel
- bay leaf
- orange peel
- garlic
- saffron
- pepper
- salt
- potatoes
- bread
- parsley
Preparation
- Preparing the baseAfter letting the salt cod soak, scale it and cut it into pieces. Put a few spoonfuls of oil in a saucepan with 2 chopped onions and heat without browning. Add 2 chopped tomatoes and let them cook briefly for a few minutes.
- Adding liquid and aromaticsAdd liquid with 2 litres of water. Add a sprig of thyme, fennel, a bay leaf, a piece of orange peel, 3 crushed cloves of garlic, a pinch of saffron, a little pepper and very little salt.
- Cooking the vegetablesAdd 6 to 8 potatoes, peeled and cut into slices 3 millimetres thick (yellow potatoes preferred). Let it boil briskly.
- Cooking the salt codWhen the potatoes are half cooked, add the salt cod and let it finish cooking briskly. Taste and correct the seasoning if necessary.
- PlatingArrange a few slices of bread in a deep dish and moisten them with the broth. Arrange the pieces of salt cod and the potatoes on another dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Reboul's text
After letting the salt cod soak as usual, scale it and cut it into pieces. Put a few spoonfuls of oil in a saucepan with 2 chopped onions and heat without browning; add 2 chopped tomatoes, let them cook briefly for a few minutes, then add liquid with 2 litres of water; add a sprig of thyme, fennel, a bay leaf, a piece of orange peel, 3 crushed cloves of garlic, a pinch of saffron, a little pepper, very little salt, to be adjusted later; add 6 to 8 potatoes, peeled and cut into slices 3 millimetres thick (yellow potatoes that do not fall apart are usually used). Let it boil briskly.
When the potatoes are half cooked, add the salt cod and let it finish cooking briskly. Taste to check the seasoning is right. Arrange a few slices of bread in a deep dish, moisten them with the broth. Arrange the pieces of salt cod around another dish with the potatoes in the middle, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Small Provençal glossary for this recipe
Reboul writes in French: no Provençal word appears in this recipe, apart from the dish's name itself. The table below gives the Provençal equivalents of the words used, in mistralian spelling, translated by Lingua Nostra. Each form is attested in our Provençal-English dictionary; click to open the entry.
| Provençal | English |
|---|---|
| merlusso | salt cod |
| boui-abaisso | bouillabaisse |
| òli | oil |
| cebo | onions |
| toumàti | tomatoes |
| safran | saffron |
| bouioun | broth |
| juvert | parsley |
| bouie | to boil |
| trancho | slices |
Source: Jean-Baptiste Reboul, La Cuisinière provençale, Marseille, 1909, recipe no. 78, page 48. Public domain. Transcription, formatting and Provençal glossary by Lingua Nostra.