Dec. 16, 2001 – Gundy, or salmagundi as it's also called, is a dish that came to the Virgin Islands from European immigrants. Some food scholars say the word originated during the 17th century from the French salmigondis.
One theory is that this dish was first prepared for France's King Henri IV by a nobleman's wife, after whom it was named. Another telling has that the term coming from the Italian phrase salame conditi, or "pickled meat." In English, the name was corrupted to "Solomon-gundy" in the 18th century. Today, gundy is best known as a composed salad that includes greens, chopped cooked meats or seafoods, anchovies, hard-cooked eggs and pickles that are artfully arranged on a platter and topped with a dressing.
The trick to making great salt cod gundy is soaking the saltfish well. Place the fish in water enough to cover and allow to soak for several hours. Drain the water and soak again. The more you soak and drain, the fresher the fish will become. If you're trying to cut down on too much salt, soak the fish very well and rely on seasonings to add back that extra zip of flavor.
Serve with whole wheat crackers; or for extra nutrition try celery sticks or baby carrots. Better yet, serve gundy along with wedges of green and red bell peppers for a festive touch.
Salt Cod Gundy
2 pounds salt cod
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 piece hot pepper, seeded and diced
1 small onion, diced
3 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons spicy mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup stuffed green olives
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced into circles
1 small onion, separated into rings
Soak salt cod overnight. Remove fish, wash in fresh water and remove bones and skin. Break fish into small pieces. Put fish, peppers, onion and parsley through a meat grinder or food processor. Whip mustard into olive oil and mix thoroughly with the salt cod mixture. Garnish with olives, hard-cooked eggs and raw onion rings.
Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 215 calories, 11 gms fat (49 pecent fat calories), 40 mg cholesterol, 236 mg sodium.
