Quarantine Diaries, Comfort Food & All The Small Things That Keep Us Going

An interview from Nikos, Paris and what he put together in his kitchen last Sunday: brandade de poisson.

A few words about you and where did the quarantine find you?

Nikos, Paris. The quarantine found me in Paris. We could see it coming and we had started preparing for it at work. Imagine that people were so aware of it, they were not closing the WC doors to avoid touching the door knobs. There was also another category of people, for them it was as if nothing  changed.

What did it change for you ?

The last few years I have been working remotely at least once a week, where possible, so not many things changed. Work beatson the same rhythme, sometimes it gets more intense, sometimes less, depending on meetings.

How many loo-rolls can you count in your cupboards?

No idea, I’m definitely not running out, I can send you some over

How do you cope?

In the kitchen! I cook daily since I was 17 years old when I moved by myself. Greek cuisine is my soft spot. I love cooking dishes from different cuisines but the taste of Greek dishes is what tantalises my tastebuds the most.

Comfort food: Brandade de poisson

Print Recipe

Brandade de poisson

you can add any herb you like, you can swap dill for parsley and even substitute them with dry herbs if you can’t find fresh.

Cuisine: French

Ingredients

• 500 gr potatoes
• 4 fish fillets cod works very well.
• 15 cl milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 small bunch of dill
• Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

• Salt the fish fillets and place in the fridge for an hour.
• Cut the potatoes in small cubes and boil for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, finely chop the dill.
• Add the milk in a large pot and follow in with the dill, garlic and fish and bring to the boil.
• After 5 minutes, remove the fish from the milk, but don’t discard.
• Mash the potatoes with the fish with a bit of olive oil, a splash of the seasoned milk and the lemon juice.
• Season with freshly ground pepper. I don’t hold back as I like the spicy ting.
• Top with breadcrumbs and a bit of olive oil and bake for 20 minutes at 180 C.
• You can serve it with salad and some of the fish fillets if you have left some aside.

Where will you go eat once this madness is over?

At my favourite Vietnamese in Paris.

Share a wish, just so we can finish on a happy note.

All will soon be over and we will keep eating everything with even more zeal…

from Paris with love,

Nikos

PS: If you wish to be part of my quarantine cuisine diaries and share your experience on Eat Yourself Greek (EYG), please drop me a line here.

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