White ling cream
Crema di molva
White ling cream is basically baccalà mantecato. A kind of rillettes made from firm white fish that tastes like cod although the texture is slightly different.
I love cooking different kinds of fish, so when I saw a fillet of white ling at the fishmongers, I decided to make a starter of white ling cream on grilled polenta. An extremely simple preparation, and a sure hit with people who don’t normally fish.
Ingredients
200 g white ling (monkfish or cod can be used instead)
1 peeled potato
50 ml double cream
50 ml milk
2 cloves of garlic
Rosemary or parsley
Preparation
Soak the dried fish in water for 24 hours or more until the meat is soft and the salt has been washed out. Change the water at reasonable intervals.
Boil the fish for 30 minutes and let it cool in the water. Remove skin and bones.
Cut the potato in small pieces and boil it with garlic. According to some recipes the potatoes should be boiled in milk from the beginning, but I find that it burns too easily.
When the potatoes are tender, drain off the water; add anchovies, baccalà and milk, and bring the mixture to the boil, while you stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.
Mash the ingredients to a paste adding lemon juice and/or olive oil, if necessary.
Serve the white ling cream on grilled polenta or toasted bread with a sprinkling of dill, black olives, capers, parsley or rosemary and a dripping of olive oil.
I chose to serve this white ling cream on polenta with a sprig of dill and a few leaves of yellow woodsorrel.
Italian Notes
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!