gringo bacalaíto

Remember these? 

Back in January I found a cooked cod fillet in the fridge and was inspired to make a fish croquette.

http://clocktowertenants.com/2014/01/croquetteaboudit.html

They weren’t very good.

Crunchy-hot but hollow, kinda pointless.

This time I found two cod steaks, five boiled carrots and the usual shallots and peppers, parsley and eggs, so I decided to try again.

Pull your fish carefully from the bone and make certain
 no bones are left. 

I chopped red pepper, sliced the carrots, softened shallots, minced some parsley and made a quick batter with two eggs, about five tablespoons of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of milk.

“Whip it good.”

1980

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_It_(Devo_song)

Salt, pepper, you know the drill, then fold the ingredients into the beaten batter.

The last time everything was chopped too fine. 

This time I left it chunky and it worked out much better.

Bacalaíto is a Puerto Rican standard and there is some kind of cod cake in every cuisine. 

Only a sobro gringo would add boiled carrots!  

Heat canola oil until it shimmers.

Ready? 

Spoon the fritters into the hot oil. Keep them small so they cook through the middle while they brown.

These look better already, right?

And they were!

Adjust your fry time so they cook through and are crunchy on the outside.

Mmmm. 

Drain on paper, salt them and you’ve nailed it. 

Caribbean beer food!