Traditional Newfoundland Fare: Part III

    You cannot speak of Traditional Newfoundland Fare without including my personal favourite, Pease Soup with Salt Beef and Steamed Dumplings.
    I always wondered why whenever I read the word "pea's" in it's singular form, it was spelled "pease". I just figured it to be colloquial, but I wasn't sure so I checked it out.
    For those of you who don't already know, "pease" is the archaic singular form of the word "pea". I found this to be a little odd. Evidently, the word "pea" began as an incorrect back formation, and it just stuck.
    I also discovered that Pea Soup, as well as Pease Pudding (another Traditional Newfoundland Dish), originated due to the fact that pea's were high-protein low-cost staples in sailor's diets. The dishes were easy to make and the pea's were easily stored for extended time periods aboard their vessels. Although pease were eventually replaced with potatoes aboard the fishing vessels during the nineteenth century, the food still remains popular in the homes of Newfoundlander's today.


Pease Soup with Salt Beef and Steamed Dumplings (Doughboys):

Ingredients:

2 cups of yellow split peas

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, diced

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1/2 cup potato, diced

1 lb. salt beef (ham bone with meat attached makes a great substitute, but doesn't need to be soaked overnight)

Directions:

(1) In separate bowls, soak the salt beef (to remove excess salt) and peas overnight in water. You will need to soak the peas in a about 5 cups of water or so. They absorb quite a bit of water.

(2) Once ready to make the soup, drain off the water. Add the salt beef (first trimming off as much fat as possible, and cutting into small cubes), yellow split peas, and 8 cups of water to a large heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a boil, and lower heat to medium. Simmer gently for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

(3) About 20 minutes before serving, add the vegetables. If at this point the soup seems to thick, add additional water to thin it out. Return to a gentle boil.

Steamed Dumplings (Doughboys):

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup butter

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2-3/4 cup of milk and water combined (Start with a 1/2 cup, and add more if the mixture is too dry)

Directions:

(1) Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

(2) Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter (a butter knife will also work well). The flour and butter should appear crumbly.

(3) Add the milk and water mixture. Stir to combine using a wooden spoon. The mixture should appear light and fluffy, and pull away from the edges of the bowl creating a ball.

(4) Drop the dough mixture by teaspoonful's into the soup.

(5) Cover the pot tightly, and cook for 15 minutes without removing the lid.

(6) Once the 15 minutes have passed, remove the lid. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the Dumplings to a large bowl.

(7) Stir the soup, and ladle it into serving dishes.

(8) Top with a Steamed Dumpling.

You may also like:

Salt Codfish Cakes (Traditional Newfoundland Dish)

Fish and Brewis (Traditional Newfoundland Dish)

Traditional Newfoundland Fare: Part II

    Fish and Brewis (pronounced "brews") is a traditional Newfoundland meal. It includes salt codfish, boiled potatoes, and hard bread or hard tack. Because of the great fishing waters around the coast of Newfoundland, Codfish was readily available making Fish and Brewis a common meal with many Newfoundland households.
    The recipe may vary from community to community, household to household, or even from generation to generation, but the ingredients stay the same. The recipe typically calls for salt cod fish, potatoes, and hard bread. The Cod has to be soaked in water overnight to reduce the salt content of the fish. The hard bread is broken into bite-size pieces and is as well soaked in water overnight. The next day all the components are boiled separately until tender, then are served together.
    Fish and Brewis is traditionally served with scrunchions. This is salted pork fat that has been cut into small pieces and fried until it resembles pork rinds. Both the rendered fat and the liquid fat are then drizzled over the fish, hard bread and potatoes.
    Drawn butter is sometimes used instead of scrunchions. Drawn butter in this instance is a mixture of melted butter and chopped onions that is thickened by flour in a saucepan then served hot over the fish, hard bread, and potatoes.
    In some Nova Scotia households, this dish is known as "Salt cod and pork scraps".

Fish and Brewis:
(This recipe will serve 4 people)

Traditional Newfoundland Fish and Brewis with
Pork Scrunchions and garnished with Mustard Pickles.

Ingredients:
8 pieces of salt cod (Soaked overnight)
8 medium sized potatoes (Peeled and quartered)
4 pieces of Purity Hard Bread  aka. Brewis (Soaked overnight)
1/2 cup of salted pork scrunchions

 

Directions:
(1) In 3 separate pots boil the salt cod, potatoes, and hard bread.
(2) In a medium sized pan, over medium high heat, cook until crisp the salted pork scrunchions.

(3) Once the fish and hard bread have cooked and the potatoes have softened, plate them together and drizzle with the pork scrunchions.

You may also like:
Salt Codfish Cakes
Pease Soup with Salt Beef and Steamed Dumplings

Traditional Newfoundland Fare

    I just so happen to still be on vacation in Newfoundland. I've been having a wonderful time visiting with friends and family as well as enjoying a bunch of delicious food I never get to have at home. My parents have a bunch of Salt Cod from last years fishing season, and my mother thought it would be nice to cook some up. Since she was taking the time to prepare the fish, I thought I would take this opportunity to share the recipe with all of you.
     Salt Cod is traditionally prepared in a dish called Fish and Brewis. With the leftover fish from this dish, it is very common to create Codfish Cakes. They are super simple to make and are a staple in Newfoundland cooking. I didn't really appreciate these as a child growing up here, but I've definitely warmed up to them somewhere along the way.

Salt Codfish Cakes (Traditional Newfoundland):

Ingredients:
10-12 small potatoes (Peeled and cut into quarters)
1 Lb. of salt Codfish (Soaked overnight to remove salt)
1/2 cup onion
1Tbsp. parsley
salt and pepper to taste (You may not need any salt due to the high salt content already in the fish.)


 Directions:
(1) In a medium sized pot, boil the potatoes until tender.

(2) In a large pot, boil the salt cod.

(3) Once the potatoes and fish are cooked, remove from the water and let cool.
(4) Mash the potatoes and place in a large bowl.
(5) Remove the skin and any bones that may have been forgotten from the fish. Flake the fish apart and add to the bowl.
(6) Add all the remaining ingredients and combine using your hands.

As you add the fish, break it apart into flakes.

(7) Begin forming the cakes similar to making hamburger patties.

These were made about 1 inch thick by 5
inches wide.



(8) Once all the cakes have been formed, fry them in a hot oiled skillet. If you are making them in a large batch, they will freeze well until you are ready to eat them.

* This recipe yields approximately 16-20 codfish cakes.

You may also like:
Pease Soup with Salt Beef and Steamed Dumplings (Traditional Newfoundland)
Fish and Brewis (Traditional Newfoundland)