Norwegian Cod Gratin: Fiskegrateng

Fish is an important part of Norwegian cuisine. The various aspects of the fish industry, including exports, are a significant part of the Norwegian economy. This dish is usually made with dried and salted cod known as "klippfisk" in Norwegian, and literally meaning, "rock/cliff fish," "presumably" because the fish were laid out on rocks (or masses of rocks; that is, cliffs) by the sea to dry. The Norwegian word is a cousin of English "cliff" (see "Word History" below). It is often called "salt cod" in English, "bacalao" in Spanish and "bacalhau" in Portuguese.* While "salt cod" is traditionally used in making this dish, you can use fresh or frozen cod; of course, this may result in the Norwegians drying you out on a rock, but some times, you gotta take a chance. Many recipes for this cod dish are very similar to what I have here, but there are more elaborate recipes which include vegetables and/or cheese. 

Ingredients:

1 pound cod (usually salt cod, but you can use fresh or thaw some frozen cod)
3 tablespoons flour
4 to 5 tablespoons butter (divided use)
3/4 cup milk
2/3 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

If you use salt cod, you will need to soak the fish in a few changes of water for the better part of a day. This soaking will help to remove the salt from the cod. Heat the oven to 350 F. Once the salt cod has been soaked, or if you use fresh or thawed cod, cut the fish into bite sized pieces. Melt 2 tablespoons butter over low heat in a sauce pan, then stir in the flour to form a roux, allowing the roux to cook for a minute or two to remove the raw flour taste, but keep stirring to prevent the roux from browning (I turn the heat down to "very low"). Gradually stir in the milk until the mixture thickens. Add a couple of tablespoons of the thickened milk to the beaten eggs, stirring constantly (this will temper the eggs to prevent you from having scrambled eggs). Gradually add the tempered eggs to the milk, STIRRING CONSTANTLY. Season with white pepper and nutmeg. Butter a baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter, add the cod pieces to the dish, then add the thickened egg/milk and mix it in well with the cod pieces. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and cut 1 or 2 tablespoons butter into little bits, then scatter them over the top. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes.

* Salt cod has a role in the cuisines of both Spain and Portugal, as well as in a number of their former colonies. 

With boiled potatoes and kale/tomato/red bell pepper salad ...

WORD HISTORY:
Cliff-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain, but one major theory (and a good one, in my opinion) ties it to the Indo European ancestor of words "clay," "claw," "cleave" (the verb meaning "to cling or stick to"), all words from the Germanic roots of English, and to "glue," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English. The idea is that cliffs are masses of rocks "sticking together," or perhaps, "rock(s) clinging or sticking to the side of a hill or mountainside." Old Germanic had "klibijanan" meaning, "to stick, to cling." This produced the noun "kliban," meaning "a mass of joined rock, cliff." This gave Old English "clif" meaning, "a steep rocky slope." It's hard to find when the second "f" was added, but likely the process was gradual, in the sense that more and more writers spelled it "cliff," which finally made it the acceptable spelling. Relatives in the other Germanic languages^: German has "Klippe" ("rock mass protruding from the sea or above the seashore"), which developed in the 1300s from its old spelling of "kleb," from about 900 A.D. The "Klippe" spelling appears in writings in the Lower Rhine area of what is now the modern German state of North Rhine-Westphalia by the border with the Netherlands. Modern German also has "Kliff," but this is a borrowing from its English cousin, although with the more typical German "K," rather than "C" (properly, all German nouns are capitalized); Low German has "Klipp," and also "Kliff" (borrowed from English??), West Frisian has "klif," Dutch has "klif," Norwegian "klippe," Swedish "klippa," Icelandic "klif."

^ There have been a number of spellings in the Germanic languages over the centuries using "f" or "p," but exactly why that is, is unclear to me and I didn't really pursue the matter, as it goes far beyond my intentions for these word histories. Interestingly though, some languages, like Dutch, have had both spellings, but one spelling eventually prevailed, in Dutch "klif."