Dried Cod Fish with potatoes & eggs - Bacalhau a Bras

Merry Christmas everyone.
My apologies for not posting in so long, but now that I'm feeling better I'm less home bound & seem to have less time to blog.
During Christmas the Portuguese generally eat Bacalhau (Codfish,dried), as it's really the national food & is very much loved by the Portuguese.

It's made from shreds of codfish, fried potatoes, caramelised onions, scrambled eggs & garnished with black olives & parsley.This has to be one of my favorite meals ever, I love the saltiness of the codfish & the creaminess of the eggs.

It's a simple & easy dish to prepare, it's usually eaten at lunch or dinner.





INGREDIENTS
SERVES 6

• 3 medium onions, peeled & sliced thinly
• 8 garlic cloves,peeled & chopped
• 200ml olive oil
• 5 large potatoes, peeled & cut into french fried batons
• 1lt oil for frying
• 400g dried codfish
• 10 eggs large size
• 100ml milk
• 3 tea salt
• 2 tab parsley chopped
• 1 tab parsley chopped, extra for garnish
• 15 black olives 

1. Soak the codfish over night in cold water changing the water 2 or 3 times to remove the salt.
One the salt has been removed pull the codfish apart into shreds using your hands.

2.  In a large fry pan heat the olive oil on medium heat add the onions & fry for 3 min then add the garlic cook the onions till there soft but don't have too much colour.
Then add the codfish shreds & the parsley cook for 3 min, once this is done leave it to the side off the heat until the potatoes are fried.

 

3. Fry the potatoes in small batches  in hot oil till golden brown.As the potatoes cook drain them on absorbent paper.

4. In a bowl break your eggs then mix them with a fork then add the milk & the salt.

5. Put the onion & codfish mix back on the stove on high heat, add the potatoes giving a quick stir, than add the egg mix stirring with a wooden spoon.
Scramble the eggs till there cooked ( I like it slightly runny).
Sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley & garnish with black olives on top.


TIPS

• Adding a bit of milk makes the eggs mixture lighter
• No need to over cook the codfish as this will make it dry, so just cook it for the suggested time as it will cook again once you add the egg mixture.
• I haven't included a lot of salt as codfish can be quite salty so feel free to add extra if you like.

Codfish,potatoes & onion casserole - Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa

Dried cod fish ( bacalhau) as I've mentioned on  this post before, is the most popular fish eaten in Portugal & there are literally hundreds of ways of preparing bacalhau.
One of the most popular ways of preparing bacalhau in Portugal is this dish Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa, this dish is a casserole, of dried codfish, potatoes, onions.
The  dish was created by Gomes de Sá who was the son of a rich nineteenth century merchant (apparently he dealt in cod) in Porto.The family lost it's fortune and so the son had to find a job at the famous restaurant Restaurante Lisbonense in downtown Porto. It was there that he created the now well known & famous recipe.

This dish was made by my friends mother for her grandsons birthday party.
It just looked so lovely that I decided to take a photo & share it with everyone.

Ingredients

•  600 - 8oog dried codfish (soaked for 24 hours)
•  8 medium size potatoes, waxy
•  4 large brown onions, sliced thin rounds
•  8 garlic cloves, crushed
•  250ml olive oil
•  4 hard boiled eggs, shell removed & sliced
•  100g black olives
•  2 tea salt
•  1 tea white pepper
•  1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
•  150ml extra olive oil

1. Soak the dried cod over night, changing the water twice.

2. Simmer a pot of water & add the cod to the water & simmer on a gentle heat for 5- 8 minutes, then drain the cod & leave to cool.

3. Put the potatoes (whole with the skin on)  into a large pot & bring the potatoes to the boil.
Once the potatoes are cooked drain & set aside to cool. Add the eggs to the potatoes & cook for 10 min, till the eggs are hard boiled, then set aside.
Once the potatoes are cooled, cut in 1/4 inch thick slices.

4. In a fry pan add the oil then heat the pan adding the onions & garlic.Cook on medium heat till the onions are soft & slightly caramelised. This may take 15 - 20 min.
Once the onions are cooked set aside.

5. Once the ingredients are all cooked & prepared, start to assemble the dish. 

6. Grease an oven proof dish ( a shallow lasagna dish is good for this) with some oil & spread half of the potatoes over the bottom of the prepared dish, then sprinkle half of the salt cod over the potatoes. Then spread half the onions on top of the potatoes,sprinkle a teaspoon salt & pepper.


6. Repeat the process till all the ingredients are gone.
Garnish with hard boiled egg slices,  black olives, & chopped parsley.
Drizzle the extra olive oil on top & bake at 180 degrees for 25min or till golden.

Note

• I buy packets of dried codfish that have been removed of skin & bone, so the weight that I've mentioned is for this type. If you buy it in pieces with the skin & bones then weigh the amount after it's been cooked with the skin & bones removed. 

• You can buy codfish at any good deli.  If your in Sydney you can buy the packet Codfish from: 
•   Charlie's Deli
  37 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham
  Ph: 9560 4037     

 

Codfish Cakes - Pasteis de Bacalhau

Bacalhau (dried salted codfish) to the Portuguese is what soy sauce is to Asians & what pasta is to the Italians. It plays such a huge part in the Portuguese diet & its psyche & without it, a huge part of its identity would go.
Codfish is almost always used dried and salted; the Portuguese invented this form of preserving the codfish long before refrigeration, a way to bring back their catch.
It's said there is 365 ways to make bacalhau, one for everyday of the year.

As a kid I wasn't keen on bacalhau, especially when it was made in the traditional way of boiling it with potatoes & vegetables & dressing it with olive oil & vinegar.
There is probably only about 4 ways that I like to eat my bacalhau & this dish is of course one of them.

Traditionally these cod cakes are made for special occasions, although you find then all over Portugal at local taverns & cafes, eaten as an entree or snack.
I've seen people use fresh fish for this dish thinking it's nicer or are a bit intimidated using dried codfish but try this version first, the taste is unique & well worth it.
These are addictive, there is no way you'll stop at 1 or 2.
Codfish cakes are eaten at room temperature usually on the same day as their made.


There are two ways to buy your bacalhau here in Australia, the first is in cutlet pieces, this comes with skin & bones, which have to be removed, or in a packet, which has the skin &bones removed.
I recommend the packet as it makes it so much more convenient.
Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the dryed codfish still in the packet before it was hydrated.


Ingredients

•  1kg potatoes
• 600g dryed cod (bacalhau)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 bunch parsley chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 white onion,peeled & grated, juice squeezed out
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Before you use codfish( bacalhau) you need to soak it to remove the excess salt, for 15-20hrs.
What I do is soak the fish the night before, after dinner I rinse the fish first to remove excess salt & then put it in a large bowl with enough water to completely cover it. Cover the bowl & refrigerate.
Then in the morning I remove the water & refill with fresh water & then leave it too soak a further  4 or 5 hours, changing the water at least another 2 times within this period . The way I know if enough salt has been removed is, I taste a bit of the cod.

2. Peel the potatoes & cook them in water until there soft.
Then strain the water from the cod & put the codfish in side a saucepan with cold water & bring to the boil.
As soon as the water has boiled the fish is cooked, strain the fish.
Put the cooked codfish inside a blender with the garlic cloves, grated onion & blend, till it's pulverised.

3. In a bowl add the pulverised codfish & the chopped parsley.
    When the potaotoes are cooked mash them.

  

4. Add the codfish, potatoes, salt together & then add the eggs, mixing till well combined.

 

5. With 2 tablespoons shape the mixture into quenelles.

     Fry the quenelles in clean medium/hot oil   

Tips

• Codfish is a firm textured fish, slightly dry, so there is no need to add flour to the mixture to hold it together
• Squeezing the water out of the onion is necessary otherwise the extra water will make the mixture more watery
• Frying oil must always be fresh otherwise the mixture will absorb the oil & be oily & horrible to eat
• Weigh the codfish when it's still salted & not hydrated
• Don't oversalt the dish, fry a small piece & taste it fist to see if you have enough salt added
• You can buy you dryed codfish at any deli or if your in Sydney you can go to:

Charlie's Deli
37 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham
Ph: 9560 4037