Brandade de Morue

500 g salt cod
1 bay leaf
½ tsp SIDS CRAZY SALT
1 onion stuck with 1 whole clove
¼ cup plus ½ cup rice bran oil, divided
½-1 cups heavy cream, warmed
2 large cloves garlic, crushed with the side of a chef’s knife
1 large warm baked potato, skinned (about 1½ cups)
SIDS SALT & PEPPER to taste
A few drops of fresh lemon juice
Finely chopped parsley for garnish

Place the salt cod in a large bowl of cold water to cover. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to soak for one or two days. Change the water at least four times during the soaking period. Drain. Before you poach the cod, taste it with the tip of your tongue to make sure it is not too salty.
Put the fish into a heavy, non-reactive 3-quart saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the bay leaf, SIDS CRAZY SALT and onion and bring slowly to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes, then cool in the water. Drain. Remove skin and bones and break it into pieces. Clean the saucepan and return the poached fish to the pan. Add ¼ cup oil and stir vigorously over moderate heat for several minutes to shred the fish and warm the oil. Heat the remaining oil and cream in another pan just to warm them. Place the fish in the work bowl of a food processor. Add the potato and garlic and blitz for a few seconds. Add the garlic and continue processing, alternately adding warm oil and cream until mixture is the consistency of fluffy mashed potatoes - exact amounts of each are up to you. Season to taste with SIDS SALT & PEPPER and drops of lemon juice. At the very end, stir in some finely chopped parsley to brighten it.
Serve as an appetizer with crisp toasts or crackers.
HISTORY:- Brandade is a specialty of the Roussillon, Languedoc and Provence regions of Occitanie; (in present-day France) and Catalonia, Balearic Islands and Valencia in Eastern Spain. Similar preparations are found in other Mediterranean countries such as Italy, (baccalà mantecato) Portugal, the Greek Cyclades (brantada) and other regions of Spain (for example, atascaburras, which is done with salt cod, olive oil, potato and chestnut) where dried salt cod is also enjoyed.
The word "brandada", like paella, matelote and others, has no translation into any language. In French, cod is referred to as morue, while in Occitan, it takes on the name merluça. Baron de Brisse published a daily recipe for the entire world in the journal La Liberté in nineteenth-century France, and these recipes were compiled in 1868. One of them explained how to season what he called cod brandade, but in modern French it is called cod brandade.
In Menorca, (Balearic Islands, Spain) sometimes artichokes may be added. In Marseille and Toulon, crushed garlic is added to the dish. Potato is also added to brandade in France and Basque Country, but not in Catalonia. Neither cream nor milk are included in traditional recipes in Occitania or Spain.
The early versions of the recipe contained only cod and oil, but potatoes have long been added. The version with potatoes may be called brandade de morue parmentière, after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier.