Fresh Cod Fritters

3-4 Alaska red "B" potatoes
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, minced
1/2 yellow onion, peeled, halved, and minced
1 cup milk
1 pound boneless, skinless cod
Salt and pepper to taste
A few good pinches of nutmeg
1 lemon, cut in half
1 handful flat-leaf parsley, washed and minced
2 eggs
Coarse sea salt (optional)
1 cup flour
1 cup panko
Oil for deep fryer

Wash the potatoes and quarter them. Drop them into salted boiling water. Cook the potatoes until they are tender, about ten minutes. Drain and place the potatoes into a medium bowl.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan. Add in the garlic, green onions, and yellow onion. Sauté over low heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about ten minutes. Add in the milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cut the fish up into pieces that fit easily in your pan. Add the fish into the milk mixture. Poach the fish for about 5-7 minutes.

Lift the fish out of the milk mixture and add it in with the potatoes. Season the potatoes and fish with salt and pepper. Add in a few gratings of nutmeg, the juice of one-half lemon, and the parsley. Mix the mixture lightly. You can vary the texture of the batter here either by blending quite well or leaving it a little chunky. Add in one egg and mix well. Refrigerate the fish mixture for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, bring the deep fryer up to the temperature of 360 degrees.

Crack the other egg into a small bowl and mix with a fork. Add the flour and panko separately into two small bowls.

Shape about one ounce of the fish batter into a round ball. Dip the ball into the flour, then the egg, and finally the panko. Repeat with as many balls as you want to make. (If I haven’t suggested enough alternate uses for the cod batter above, any leftover sautéed batter is great in eggs in the morning or in pasta for lunch).

Drop one fish ball into the fryer to check the temperature. It will take about 2-3 minutes to cook, turning a light golden brown. Repeat.

Cut the remaining lemon into wedges. Sprinkle the cod fritters with chunky sea salt if you prefer and serve with a spicy sofrito and lemon wedges.

Makes about 24 fritters.