Cod with potatoes

Friday is day for fish in Catholic countries. I am not devoted catholic, but I like to follow these culinary traditions! Of course, fish is one of best known symbols for Christ and there are few Biblical tales about fish. Although symbolic is very deep, people use to eat fish on Friday as reminder on Biblical tale when Jesus fed five thousand men on shores of Sea of Galilee with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Today on that spot stands a church commemorated to this miracle.

Frogfish soup

Fish was main ingredient for poor fishermen families in Dalmatia, coastal part of Croatia. In mainland, river fish was used for no-meat Friday. Usually these have been large quantities as fish was cooked, stewed and just rarely baked, as there were lots of hungry mouths. Times change, but quantities didn’t. Recently I’ve been to a restaurant in centre of Zagreb, where I ate most delicious cod with potatoes lately. Restaurant’s name is “Kod Pere” (At Pero’s) and it is perfect for lunch. Even for hungry Croats as me and my friend portions were enormous and for a rather cheap price on this location.

Enormous bowl of cod with potatoes served in front of us Kod Pere

First we had a very nice frog fish soup and later cod with potatoes, very familiar and popular meal. To make it, one has to begin a night before when cod is well beaten and soaked in water overnight. Cod is then washed and cooked until it becomes soft. Take it out from the water (keep the water) and place it on serviette to clean it from bones. Peel potatoes, wash and slice it. Put one row of potatoes, one row of cod on plate and everything cover with sliced garlic, parsley and warm olive oil. Put salt and pepper, add a little bit of water where cod was cooked and bake it in oven until potatoes become soft.
For this you need 400g of cod, 1 kilo potatoes, olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.