Cod Liver Tartlets
Cod liver on its own is so rich it melts away with no resistance — which is why it always comes with hard-boiled egg for structure and something sour to cut through. The shells are filled last: within an hour the pastry goes soft as cardboard under a wet filling.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 260 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: 24 tartlets, 8 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
-
Step 1: Hard-boil the eggs
Lower the eggs into boiling water for 9 minutes, then straight into cold. Nine minutes gives a firm yolk with no grey ring around it.
-
Step 2: Drain the cod liver
Tip it into a sieve and let it drain for 5 minutes, keeping one spoon of its oil. The whole tin of oil makes a loose filling and soggy shells within minutes.
-
Step 3: Mash the filling
Mash the liver with that spoon of oil, then fold in the grated eggs, spring onion, lemon juice and pepper. It rarely needs salt — the tin is salted already.
-
Step 4: Check the texture
The filling should be as thick as pâté and stay on a fork. Too stiff: another spoon of oil from the tin. Too loose: half an extra egg.
-
Step 5: Fill at the last minute
Spoon it generously into the shells no more than 20 minutes before serving, and finish each with a slice of cucumber and a frond of dill.
Tips & variations
-
Tip
Buy cod liver packed in its own fat rather than in oil: the first tastes of cod liver, the second largely of sunflower oil.
-
Tip
The filling can be made a day ahead and kept with film pressed onto its surface so it does not dry. The shells are strictly same-day.
-
Variation
Instead of cucumber, top each one with capelin roe or a half-ring of pickled onion — the same acidity, a different look on the platter.
-
Storage
The filling keeps two days in the fridge. Filled tartlets do not keep: soft after an hour, collapsing after three.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 260 kcal | 2,080 kcal |
| Protein | 10 g | 80 g |
| Fat | 19 g | 152 g |
| Carbohydrates | 12 g | 96 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
Cooked it? Rate the recipe
No ratings yet — yours will be the first.
