Cod bits with butter beans and bacon

Serves 2-4<

Serve as it is as a starter or with some toast (Jason Lowe)

Those bits and bobs of cod that normally get thrown away can be turned into something special. You should have left the tongue, cheeks and collar.

The tongue, cheeks and collar from the cod
1 medium onion, peeled, finely chopped
A couple of good knobs of butter
60g bacon, rind removed and cut into rough 1cm chunks
Half a glass of white wine
About 150ml of the cod soup
100g good quality canned butter beans, drained and rinsed in cold water
1tbsp parsley
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Put the bacon in a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes, then drain. Season the cod bits, melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and fry them on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, turning them until lightly coloured. Remove from the pan and put to one side.

Add the onions and bacon to the pan and cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes without colouring, then add the white wine and simmer until completely reduced. Add the soup, butter beans and the tongues and simmer gently for about 10 minutes with a lid on.

Add the cheeks and collar and simmer for another 3-4 minutes, then add the parsley and season to taste. Add a little water if the sauce is becoming dry and simmer gently for a couple more minutes. Serve as it is as a starter or with some toast.