A technique that originated in Norway, salt cod spread to become staple fare all around Europe because the heavy salting ensures it keeps for months – even years. In Australia you can buy imported salt cod from delicatessens; it’s as stiff as a board, hard as a rock and needs to be soaked for hours to remove the salt and make it suitable for cooking. These days, on-boat refrigeration means we are no longer as dependent on this method of preservation. In my view this is a good thing, as I think it destroys all the natural flavour of the fish. Here’s my modern method of salting; it just takes a few hours and I also add lemon and thyme to subtly enhance the delicate flavour of the fish. To cook, I poach it in aromatic milk until it is just cooked, but still translucent in the centre. Naturally you can also use this to make brandade. True North Atlantic cod is not available fresh in Australia, but you can use similar flaky, firmly textured fish such as blue eye, hapuka, warehou, bass grouper or mahi mahi.