Pocas Douro Red & Codfish Recipe

[Roy Hersh]

Vale de Cavalos Red 2008 - Salted codfish at low temperature, coriander rice and 3 pepper coulis“
Good structure. Good balance. Pleasant aroma resembling that of red fruits, which goes well with the flavor of the this codfish" - Stephane Gallou
Chef Stephane Gallou showed refined inspiration in welcoming us with open doors to the Open restaurant, at the Inspira Santa Marta Hotel, in Lisbon. He shared with us the concept of the Mediterranean Brasserie and revealed the ingredients and secrets that went into preparing this codfish recipe, designed to pair with the Vale de Cavalos Red 2008.

Ingredients (serves 4):

For the codfish confit: 1 kg of salted codfish (loin) | 300 ml of olive oil | 30 g of garlic | 1 bay leaf | 10 g of black peppercorns

For the coulis: 100 g of green pepper | 100 g of red pepper | 100 g of yellow pepper | Salt and white pepper to taste

For the coriander rice: 350 g of short-grain rice | 50 g of onion | 10 g of garlic | 150 g of coriander | 200 g of ripe plum tomato | 25 g of granulated sugar | Salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

Codfish: in a pan, place the codfish loins, the bay leaf, the black peppercorns, the peeled garlic and the olive oil until the loins are covered. Prepare a confit in low heat, at 70ºC for 15 minutes.

Pepper coulis: wash the peppers, cut into small cubes, stew in olive oil (using the olive oil from the codfish confit). Season with salt, add a little water and let it cook for 5 minutes. Grind and cook in the oriental wok.

Coriander rice: wash the tomatoes, remove the seeds, cut into small cubes and sauté inolive oil. Season with salt and pepper and sugar to remove the tomato’s acidity. Set aside. Peel and chop the onion. Stew the onion. Add the rice, a little salt, stir and add the water (2,5 parts water to one part rice). Finally, add the sautéed tomato and the chopped coriander.

Preparing in the plate:

In a plate, place the 3-pepper coulis, and the codfish next to that. On the side, place a leaf of radicchio lettuce and the coriander rice in it. Pour a little olive oil.

About the chef

Stephane Gallou was born in Paris 39 years ago. His earliest childhood memories take him back to his mother’s and grandmother’s kitchen, where he first learned how to cook. He started working at age 16, allured by the art of cooking. After receiving his training at the French “Jean Drouant” school, he worked in the kitchens of many prestigious restaurants and hotels in Paris, Cannes, Luxembourg and, most recently, in Lisbon.

In February of this year, he became chef at the Open – Mediterranean Brasserie restaurant (I think it is in Lisbon). Here, he shares a distinctive concept that strongly emphasizes quality and variety in a menu based on healthy foods, organically grown and purchased at the local market, preferably through a system of fair trade.