Taste of the sea

We have never tasted the famous delicacies of cod cheeks and cod tongues before now. But yesterday Sherry and Peter Van Buskirk brought us some fresh haddock fillets and cod cheeks and tongues from Peter's most recent fishing trip. Peter fishes all year around: when lobster season is over he just starts right into gillnet fishing. He and his crew go out for several days and even a week at a time. So I guess they fish pretty far from shore.

Peter has brought us haddock fillets before. But never cod cheeks and tongues. He explained to us once how you cut them out of the cod's head, and it sounded like complex surgery. The trick is to get the meat without the bones. Last night we had the benefit of all that skill.

Greg sauteed the cheeks and tongues in olive oil with a little garlic, salt and pepper, and we ate them with baby greens and peas I just picked from the garden, in a buttermilk and honey dressing. Life on this island: yum.

First image: "Five Men in a Boat", William E. deGarth, 1959; second image: "Three Men Spreading Nets," William E. deGarth, 1964. A virtual exhibit of Nova Scotian artist William E. deGarth's paintings can be found at The Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management website. Images courtesy of NSARM.