Salt Cod With Onions, White Wine And Cabbage - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs dried salt cod fish (or (substitute 4 thick steaks of any fresh, firm-fleshed white fish)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 lbs onions, finely sliced (about 6-7 medium onions)
1 green cabbage
2 lbs boiling potatoes, also called waxy potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine, traditional Portuguese is vinho verde
1/2 teaspoon salt, estimated, to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper, estimated to taste
1 teaspoon parsley, optional as a garnish
1 teaspoon piri-piri, optional as a garnish (can be store bought or many recipes already in Recipezaar)

Preparation

If using salt-cod, cut into 4 pieces and reconstitute as described in the Introduction; don't drain or dry the fish when done.
If using fresh fish (4 steaks), rinse, lightly salt, and leave in a colander for 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium-size (at least 10-12 inch diameter) frying pan, warm up the olive oil, then add the onions to sautee for about 30 minutes; you want golden, not brown, and soft; this is a basic cebollata (see Intro).
Keep the cebollata warm (lowest stove top setting).
Prepare the cabbage by trimming and removing four of the largest and most perfect outside leaves; cut out the thick, stiff stem at the base of each leaf.
Use a heavy knife to flatten the leaves and make them more pliable.
Shred the heart of the cabbage and set it aside for now.
Wrap each of the 4 pieces of fish in a cabbage leaf.
Lay the wrapped fish on a baking tray, put in the oven, and bake for 20-30 minutes, \"until the wrappers are as dry and brown as tobacco leaves\".
While the fish are cooking, prepare the potatoes as follows:.
Put a medium-sized covered pan (big enough to hold the potatoes and the shredded cabbage) on the stove top and put in the potatoes.
Add the wine and enough water to cover and cook (medium heat) for about 10 minutes.
Remove the cover, add the shredded cabbage, and cover tightly to let the cabbage steam (turn up the heat a bit if necessary).
Cook until the potatoes are tender, probably a total of 15-20 minutes.
Remove the potatoes and cabbage with a slotted spoon to your serving dish.
Add the cooking juices from the potato/cabbage pot into the cebollata in the frying pan, taste and season, then increase the heat to reduce the liquid until you have a thick rich sauce.
Pour the sauce over the potato and cabbage base.
Remove the fish from the oven, place them on the potato and cabbage base and open the wrappers.
Optionally, garnish with parsley and piri piri.
Enjoy!