Portugese Bacalhau à Brás
Long before the advent of supermarkets and freezers salted cod was a staple of the diets of may coastal people and especially a maritime country like Portugal
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Ingredients
Salted Cod
- 3 lbs salted cod Note 1:
- 2 large yellow onions thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup white wine or fish stock
- 8 large eggs
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup black olives Note 2.
- ½ cup fresh parsley Note 3.
- Olive oil
Fries
- 4 large Russet potatoes (or similar)
- Olive oil
- Pepper
Instructions
Salted Cod
- It's very important to soak the salted cod overnight and to change the water once or twice.
- In a large saucepan cover the cod with cold water, bring to the boil, and cook for 10-15. The aim is for it to be flaky.
- Drain the cod but keep a cup or two of the water. Allow the cod to cool a little before shredding and removing skin and bones. Set the cod to one sie.
- At this stage you'll probably be wanting to start cooking the potato wedges or fries.
- Beat the eggs as if you plan to make scrambled eggs. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside for later.
- In a large saucepan add olive oil and heat to low-medium. Add the onions, garlic and bay leaves and saute for around 5-10inutes. Stir regularly to avoid burning.
- Add the wine or fish stock and continue to cook until the wine reduces a little.
- Remove the bay leaves before stirring in the shredded cooked cod. If I don't have fresh parsley I'll add dried parsley at this point.
- Add the beaten eggs and cook as if you are making scrambled eggs. If it seems a little dry add some of the fish water that you saved when first cooking the cod.
- At this point mix in the fresh parsley, olives and potato wedges or fries. That's the traditional way but I prefer to serve the potato wedges on the side t
- That's the traditional way but I prefer to serve the potato wedges on the side and include a fresh green salad or steamed green vegetables.
Fries (Chips)
- Slice the potatoes into potato wedge sizes. In a large bowl toss in a moderate amount of olive oil and sprinkle with pepper.
- My favorite way to cook these fries is in an infra red air fryer. Quick clean and easy to match cooking time with the main meal. It usually takes about 10 minutes and I prefer to pause cooking half way through and quickly turn the fries so that they cook more evenly.
- Alternatively, use frozen fries.
Notes
Note 1: Salted cod is the traditional choice, but any firm white fish will work. Tilapia is particularly good.
Note 2: Traditionally, cooks would use sundried olives that they would have stored from the previous year’s harvest, but I find fresh black olives are a great choice.
Note 3: If fresh parsley isn’t available, use dried.