Hard times: brandade with grey shrimp and cauliflower

It's hot, but not so hot that I don't crave some potatoes. I don't often eat potatoes, but potatoes are currently a craving. Brandade, usually with salt cod and potatoes, is a poor man's dish. Geert Van der Bruggen has a version with some of our goodies: cauliflower, white fish, grey shrimp. Last week I had a simple evening meal of oven-baked potato and cauliflower. That too might have easily passed for a poor man's dish.

Brandade with grey shrimp and cauliflower

By Geert Van der Bruggen, in: Velt zine De seizoenen, No. 4, 2010, p. 21.

Serves 4

200 g fillet of white fish (i.c. plaice, the only MSC-labeled* fish I could lay hands on)
100 g freshly shelled grey shrimp
500 g potatoes
8 slices of dried bacon
1 small cauliflower
2 eggs
fresh chives
1 dl sour cream
juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil
pepper, salt

*MSC: Marine Stewardship Council. A must in your vocabulary when it comes to fish.

Preheat oven at 140 °C.

Peel potatoes, cut them and boil them in salted water.

Season fish with salt and pepper, sprinkle with olive oil and put in the oven for 2 minutes (I let it in the oven somewhat longer-7 minutes)

Softly boil the eggs and peel them.

Drain cooked potatoes, let them dry, then mash. Add eggs, fish, chopped chives (keep some chives for decoration). Finish the brandade with sour cream, shrimp, lemon juice, pepper.
Taste; finish with a bit of olive oil.

Put the brandade onto plates, and sprinkle with very finely cut raw cauliflower. Put some dried bacon on top, and decorate with some chives.

My variations:
I used MSC-approved white fish (plaice)
I skipped the dried bacon and the sour cream.
I steamed the cauliflower to a translucent green al dente perfection: courtesy of de Leonie de Sounin's Magic in Herbs, see my post on the perfect cauliflower cooking method here.
For taste, I added some argan oil and chipotle chilli powder (my current fave in the spice rack)

Stop worrying about your finances and eat!