Salt cod cake, fried eggs and avocado mojo
Your salt cod fillet should be rinsed well, then soaked in cold water in the fridge overnight or longer with one change of water.
Serves 4
For the avocado mojo
1 large bunch coriander, washed and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed to a smooth paste (in a pestle and mortar or edge of a knife) with salt and a squeeze of lemon
4-6 long green chillies, halved lengthways, seeded and finely chopped
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 creamy soft avocado, stone removed and chopped into small cubes
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fragrant white wine vinegar, such as muscatel, with a pinch of sugar
Salt and sugar, to taste
For the salt cod cakes
250g hard- or medium-cured salt cod fillet or smoked haddock
1 small red onion, halved
3 bay leaves
750ml whole milk
2 potatoes (about 350g), peeled and quartered
2 tbsp finely shredded flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp olive oil and 25g butter for frying, plus up to 200ml to fry the eggs
4 eggs
Salt
1 Blitz the coriander, garlic, chillies and oil in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, add the avocado and season with the lemon juice, vinegar, salt and sugar to taste.
2 For the salt cod cakes, drain the fish and put in a saucepan with one half of the red onion, the bay leaves and the milk. Gently bring to a simmer, but remove the cod from the pan before it comes to the boil. dd the potatoes to the pan. Simmer until just soft.
3 Meanwhile, finely shred the fish, removing any bones and skin. This is much easier to do when still hot; try to break down the fibres as much as possible. When the potatoes are ready, drain in a colander and leave spread out to dry for 3 minutes, then mash until smooth.
4 Grate about a heaped tablespoonful of the remaining half of the red onion and mix with the potato, parsley and shredded fish mixture while it still warm. Cover and chill this mixture in the fridge for an hour.
5 Shape the mixture into 4 or 8 patties depending on your preferred size. Put a large nonstick frying pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. When the butter begins to foam, fry the cakes (in batches if necessary) until both sides are golden brown and crisp. Transfer them to kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
6 Heat up to 200ml olive oil in a small frying pan – the Spanish prefer to fry eggs in a huge amount of olive oil. You can by all means reduce this by half. When it’s hot, carefully crack the eggs into the oil, one by one. Sprinkle with some salt, then and spoon the hot, bubbling oil over the yolk. When the edges are frilly and crisped slightly and the yolk is cooked to your liking, remove the egg with a slotted spoon and put on top of the salt cod cake on a plate. Serve immediately with avocado mojo on the side.
Cardamom granola, yoghurt and fruit salad
We love the flavour that cardamom adds to this homemade granola, which gets its sweetness naturally from the banana and date molasses; I try to avoid refined sugar if I can. A seasonal fruit salad and a creamy yoghurt are ideal companions. We’ve used peaches, blackberries and figs here, but you can use citrus fruits or other seasonal fruit as preferred.
Serves 4
200g large rolled organic oats
200g blanched almonds
200g sunflower seeds
200g pumpkin seeds
2 very ripe (black) bananas, mashed with a fork
4 tbsp date molasses
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp roughly ground green cardamom seeds
100g coconut flakes, toasted
400g Greek yoghurt
150g blackberries
2 peaches, sliced lengthways
2 figs, quartered lengthways
1 Set the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2. Blitz the oats, almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds in a food processor for just a few seconds. Transfer to a baking dish. Add the mashed bananas, date molasses, coconut oil and cardamom. Mix well, then roast gently for 20‑30 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
2 Remove from the oven, cool, then gently toss in the flaked coconut.
3 Divide the Greek yoghurt among four bowls. Serve with granola, blackberries, peaches and figs. For colour and crunch, I sometimes like to top with shredded mint, chopped pistachios and pomegranate seeds.
Huevos rotos
“Broken eggs” to help put you back together after a big new year’s eve ...
Serves 4
2 medium potatoes (225-250g), peeled and thinly sliced
Salt
100g chorizo (optional)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
1 small green pepper, thinly sliced
1 sprig of thyme
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
4 eggs
1 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
A sprinkling of smoked sweet paprika
1 Put the sliced potatoes in a colander, add a generous pinch of salt, toss well, then set aside for 15 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, if using chorizo, fry it until caramelised at the edges, then remove from the pan. If not: add the olive oil to the pan, fry the onion, peppers, thyme, and rosemary with a pinch of salt. Cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion and peppers begin to soften.
3 Stir in the potatoes and garlic. Cook for another 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and tender, but not coloured, stirring occasionally.
4 Return the chorizo, if using, to the pan. Crack in the eggs. Remove from the heat and gently mix until the eggs are cooked, returning the pan to the heat if necessary. Adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with parsley and paprika, then serve immediately with toast or bread.
- Morito is the sister restaurant of Moro on Exmouth Market, London. Owned by Sam and Sam Clark, it now has a second outlet on Hackney Road @moritotapas
