Creamed Cod on Grilled Polenta Crostini with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Black Olives

🧾 General Information

• Category: Appetizer
• Servings: 4
• Food cost target: 24–30%
• Service time: 5 minutes
• Difficulty: Medium

⚖️ Portion Sizes

• Creamed cod: 90 g
• Grilled polenta: 60 g
• Sun-dried tomatoes: 10 g
• Black olives: 8 g
• Extra virgin olive oil: 5 ml

🧾 Total Ingredients (4 servings)

Creamed Cod

• 400 g already soaked cod
• 150 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 100 ml milk
• 1 garlic clove
• white pepper

Polenta Crostini

• 250 g cornmeal for polenta
• 1 l water
• 10 g salt
• 20 g butter

Finishing

• 40 g sun-dried tomatoes
• 30 g pitted black olives
• fresh parsley
• extra virgin olive oil

⚙️ Base Preparation (Prep)

Creamed Cod

• Cook the cod in water or milk.
• Remove skin and bones.
• Blend while slowly adding olive oil until creamy.
• Adjust with white pepper.
• Store at +4°C.

Polenta

• Cook the polenta until firm.
• Spread onto a tray.
• Cool completely.
• Cut into rectangles or squares.
• Grill on a griddle or in the oven.

👨‍🍳 Service Procedure

1. Lightly reheat the creamed cod.
2. Warm the grilled polenta crostini.
3. Arrange the cod on top of the polenta.
4. Finish with sun-dried tomatoes and black olives.
5. Add parsley and extra virgin olive oil.
6. Serve immediately.

🔑 Critical Control Points (CCP)

• Cod: creamy but stable texture.
• Polenta: crispy outside, soft inside.
• Olives and tomatoes: balanced so they do not overpower the fish.
• Temperature: serve warm.

🍽️ Plating

• White rectangular plate or black slate.
• Arrange 3 crostini per portion.
• Cod should be clearly visible and generous.
• Finish with:
  • finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • roughly chopped black olives
  • fresh parsley
  • drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Premium Option

• black olive powder
• lemon zest
• thin polenta chips

🛠️ Recommended Professional Equipment

All the equipment listed is available for purchase on Ristorazione-Refrigerazione.it.

• Professional cutter for creaming the cod.
• Professional polenta cooker for large volumes.
• Blast chiller for rapid cooling of the polenta.
• Professional griddle for grilling the crostini.
• Immersion blender for a smooth and stable texture.

💰 Estimated Food Cost

• Cost per portion: ~€1.50
• Recommended selling price: €10–14 depending on the venue

🔄 Menu Adaptability

• Wine bar: premium appetizer for sharing.
• Seafood restaurant: elegant entrée.
• Catering: excellent holding for buffet and finger food.

🧠 Professional Logic

Dish designed for:

• advance preparation
• strong Mediterranean identity
• balance between creaminess and crunch

Final quality depends on the correct creaming of the cod, the crispness of the polenta and the balance of savory elements.