Truffled Cod with Garlic-Veal Glace

from "Kitchen of Light" by Andreas Viestad

Cooking with truffles demands a foil that is not too dominant or you will lose the wonderful complexity or aromas that you have paid so much for. Cod, with its subtle taste and its appeal from texture as much as from flavor, is just as suitable as the more common omelet or pasta.

If you cannot get fresh truffles, or if you do not want to splurge on the real thing, a splash of truffle oil will do.

We featured this dish on the New Scandinavian Cooking show from Lofoten, an archipelago in northern Norway that is the center of the Norwegian cod fisheries.

Serves 4

Four 1/2-pound cod fillets, skin on
1 1/2 cups veal stock or 1 cup chicken stock plus 1/2 cup beef stock*
8 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon truffle oil
1/2 ounce fresh black truffle

Soak the fish in ice water for 15 to 20 minutes, or place it in a colander in the sink under cold running water for 15 to 20 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.

In a small saucepan, bring the veal stock to a boil. Add the garlic and bay leaf and simmer gently until the garlic is soft and the veal stock is reduced to 1/3 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Makes sure the pot does not boil dry. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Place the flour in a large dish and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the fish fillets in the flour. In a large nonstick skillet with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat. Add the fish, skin side up, and cook for 1 minute, then turn and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 6 minutes, or until the fish flakes nicely with a fork. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the truffle oil to the veal stock and heat over very low heat until the butter has melted; do not let boil. Add the reserved garlic.
Finely shave the truffle and scatter the shavings over the cod and into the cracks between the flakes of fish. Place the cod on warm plates. Drizzle with the garlic-veal glace and serve.