For the Lenten period, we called upon Evangelos Athanasiathis, chef of Bacchus Restaurant in Pano Gouves, to talk about one of his favourite seafood dishes, Salted Cod with Garlic Sauce.

"Cod is traditionally the fish of the people for Annunciation Day and for Palm Sunday," he told us. "It is an old tradition and the poor Christians preferred it because it was very cheap to buy. Of course, this was a long time ago, because now one kilo of cod costs the same price as two kilos of steak. In the beloved city of good flavours, Thessaloniki, the cod cooked in the following way constitutes a very good specialty for the whole year."

First of all, Mr. Athanasiathis offered two hints: Firstly, to choose cod filet, preferably from Norway or Finland, and, second, it should be white without brown-grey or beige shades. Also, shake it very well to get rid of excess salt which adds to the weight and therefore the price.

For four people you will need:

1 kg cod
500gr multi purpose flour
Olive oil
Raki
1 egg
Salt
Sugar
50ml beer
200 ml water
3 large potatoes (preferably sweet potatoes), boiled
5 cloves garlic
Vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
Ginger

1. The day before, wash the fish with a lot of clean water and then cut it into slices, roughly 50gr. each, and put it into a bowl of water, changing it several times. In the morning, change the water again, and the cod is ready to be fried. After being washed, the cod must be kept in the fridge.

 2. For the batter, mix together the flour, a shot of olive oil, one shot of raki, the egg, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of sugar and 50ml. of beer. Mix well and add 200 ml. of water. The mixture must be very thick and well mixed. Leave to stand for 30 minutes.

3. Put 500ml of olive oil in a deep frying pan and heat to 170^ο  to 180^ο . At this point, put the cod into the batter and make sure it is covered but shake off the excess and put into the oil. When it turns a deep golden colour and inflates like a doughnut take it out and drain it on some kitchen paper. Do the same with all the fish.

For the garlic sauce, take the potatoes and grate them. In a blender mix in the garlic, one shot of vinegar, 3 shots of olive oil, the lemon juice, a little grated ginger and a little salt. Blend at a fast speed and add to the grated potatoes. Taste and add more salt if required.

Serve with a green salad with avocado sauce or fresh beetroot with its leaves and garlic.

Good Appetite and Happy Lent.