Milk-Poached Bacalhau à Brás with Garlic Confit and Olive Crumb

Method

1. Heat the oven to 100 °C. Pat the olives dry, chop them roughly, spread them on a lined tray and dry them for 40 min, until they crumble between your fingers. Let them cool and crush into fine crumbs. Carry on with the next steps meanwhile.

   Add in this stepPitted black olives 12

2. Put the cod, milk and bay leaves in a 18 cm pot and warm over medium-low heat just until it steams; boiling makes the fish tough. Turn off the heat, cover and leave for 10 min. Lift out the cod, remove skin and bones and break it along its natural flakes into large, juicy pieces rather than fine threads. Keep 2 tablespoons of the milk.

   Add in this stepThick salt cod loin, desalted 260 gMilk 400 mlBay leaves 1

   medium-low heat

3. Thinly slice the garlic and put it in a wide 24 cm pan with the olive oil while the oil is still cold. Warm over low heat for 6 min, until the garlic is soft and pale gold, then strain, keeping the garlic and the fragrant oil separately. Stop before it turns brown, or it will be bitter.

   Add in this stepGarlic cloves 4Extra-virgin olive oil 80 ml

   low heat

4. Cut the potatoes into 2 mm matchsticks (always use the mandoline's hand guard), soak them in cold water for 10 min to draw out the starch, then dry them completely in a towel.

   Add in this stepFloury potatoes 300 g

5. Heat the frying oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat to 170 °C (pot size · number of batches: 18 cm · 2×); it should fill no more than a third of the pot. Fry the potatoes a handful at a time for 3 min per batch, until pale gold and crisp, then drain and sprinkle with half the salt. Stay with the pot the whole time and keep water away from the oil.

   Add in this stepSunflower oil for frying 750 mlFlaky salt to taste

   medium-high heat

6. Pour two thirds of the garlic oil back into the pan, add the very thinly sliced onion and cook over medium-low heat for 12 min, until sweet, soft and still uncoloured. Add the cod and the confit garlic and fold gently to warm through.

   Add in this stepOnion (medium) 1

   medium-low heat

7. Whisk the eggs, extra yolks, the 2 tablespoons of reserved milk, white pepper and a little of the remaining salt without making them frothy (go easy on the salt; the cod is salty). Add the potatoes to the pan, keeping a handful back, turn the heat to low heat, pour in the eggs and fold in broad strokes from the bottom for 1 min 30 sec. Take the pan off the heat while the eggs are still loose and custardy.

   Add in this stepEggs 3Extra egg yolks 1White pepper to tasteFlaky salt to taste

   low heat

8. Fold in the parsley and lemon zest, spoon onto plates, top with the reserved potatoes and the olive crumb, drizzle with the last of the garlic oil and serve at once.

   Add in this stepChopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tbspLemon (for zest) ½