Brandade de morue — Nîmes, France

Brandade is associated with Nîmes, where dried cod arriving through the port of Aigues-Mortes was long traded for salt from the nearby salt flats. The town built a local speciality around it that had already made Nîmes known for the dish by the 18th century, according to local histories. The name comes from the Provençal verb brandar, to stir. The cod, first poached and flaked, is worked with a spatula in a pan over low heat while olive oil and milk are poured in alternately, little by little, until the fish turns into a smooth, pale paste with no visible flakes left. Before cooking, the salt cod needs a long soak, its water changed several times, to remove enough salt to make it edible. Once poached and boned, the fish is stirred patiently rather than beaten, since working it too fast or too hard can make the paste grainy instead of smooth. The Nîmes version leaves out potato; adding it is common practice in other towns and is treated locally as a shortcut rather than a fault, without either approach being considered more correct than the other. Brandade is served hot, plain or baked au gratin, with garlic-rubbed croutons, or cold spread on toast.