If one thinks of Portugal and its cuisine, it does so by bringing to mind sardines, cream cakes and the eternal cod. our dear Gadus Morhua, either salted or fresh; in crumbs, loins, supreme or fillets, he is the king of Portuguese cuisine.
There they brag that they have a recipe with cod for each day of the year. Accessible -although less than in the past-, versatile, always at hand and suitable for stews, casseroles, frying or baked preparations, cod has claimed its gastronomic cache, being much more than an ingredient for Easter.
From quintessential humble dish (in the end it was a salting) a revalued product in haute cuisine, cod has undergone a reconversion that has transferred it to haute cuisine but without ever giving up its origins: houses and homes with fewer resources where they were able to tree everything a menu with this ingredient with which it has a long relationship.
The origins of this romance arise around the 10th century, when the Vikings, after several unsuccessful attempts to dominate the Iberian coasts, decided to resort to something simpler: trade.
With the salted meats on their ships and with Portuguese wine as a counterpart, that synergy was established and centuries later, with the Vikings already out of the game, it would be the European powers that set their sights on the North Atlantic.
Instead of strategic importance for its fishing grounds and where the Portuguese came to found factories at the end of the 15th century in what is now Greenland, Newfoundland and the Labrador Peninsula (the latter owes its name to the Portuguese navigator João Lavrador), so to this day, although most of the cod be imported.
become almost culinary religion across the country (it is difficult to find an ingredient that has the same relevance not only in Portugal, but throughout Europe), in Directo al Paladar we have also granted it the meritorious space that it has earned by hand, among the golden cod, the cod a bràs, the bacalhau com natas or spiritual cod.
Recipes that anyone can dance at home -have bread on hand, yes- and that unites us more to Portugal to the rhythm of stoves and that we bring you today.
1. Golden cod or bacalhau à Brás
It is surely the most international of the recipes with cod and it emerges as a resource for use. Its base could not be more humble since it carries egg, potato and the cod itself dried.
The key is to use good cod crumbs, desalt them well but keep a point of salt, and that the match potato is very fine, for which you can use a mandolin.
Crumble the previously desalted cod crumbs so that they can be mixed with the straw potatoes in the recipe and do not stand out against them, since the ideal is that each bite has a homogeneous proportion of fish, potatoes and egg. Once shredded, cook the cod pieces for two minutes and drain them.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin straws, for which We will use a mandolin or a very sharp knife. Afterwards, it is essential to leave the potatoes in water so that they are loose and do not stick to each other. We leave them in cold water for about 10 minutes, and then, before frying them, we dry them by leaving them on a kitchen cloth.
In a frying pan, sauté the onion cut into fine julienne strips and when it is very soft, add the pieces of cod. Fry the potatoes in another pan until they are golden and crispy and drain them on absorbent paper. Mix the potatoes with the fried onion and cod and add the beaten eggs moving carefully until the egg begins to curdle, turning off so that it is very juicy.
We serve in a fountain and finish the recipe for golden cod sprinkling with chopped parsley and decorating with some black olives.
Link to full recipe | Golden cod or bacalhau à Brás.
2. Bacalhau with cream or bacalhau as cream
The potato shares the leading role in this dish, something more forceful, with the cod and with a little bit of the bechamel sauce, which goes very well with the salinity of the salting and makes it very juicy.
In addition, the touch of oven gives it that gratin point which makes it always appetizing, filling the kitchen with the aroma of the crispy crust that the potato and milk make.
- Ingredients for 6 people: 400g of desalted cod, 5 potatoes, 1 onion, 20g of wheat flour, 20g of butter and 500ml of milk.
- Elaboration: Desalt the cod in the fridge for 36 hours, changing the water every 12 hours. When it is at its point, we cut small strips, with our hands or with a sharp knife. We reserve them in water. (You can also use cod crumbs by chopping them when they are desalted). Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices like when we are going to prepare a potato omelette and fry them lightly without browning them. They will then finish baking in the oven. Place half of the potatoes, once fried and drained, at the base of a large bowl. Julienne half an onion and while it is simmering over low heat, cook the pieces of cod in the milk for two or three minutes. Then we put the strips of cod with the onion and sauté them together. Place the cod and onion on the potatoes in the dish. We prepare a very light bechamel with the butter, flour and milk in which we cooked the cod, adding more milk if necessary. Once it begins to thicken, add it to the pan, allowing it to spread between the holes and cover the potatoes. Bake at 190º for fifteen minutes and then gratin until the top layer is toasted. We serve warning the diners that it can be very hot since the potatoes retain their temperature a lot.
Link to full recipe | Bacalhau with cream.
3. Spirit Cod
This recipe is not lost in the mists of time, but is relatively contemporary and has as its protagonist a Portuguese aristocrat (Countess Almeida Araújo), who moved to France to try haute cuisine that she could transfer to her Portuguese restaurant.
He fell in love with this recipe, similar to a brandade, in which the vegetables are the protagonists but where the oven gives it that aspect, similar to a quiche, that he likes so much.
- Ingredients for 6 people: 600g desalted and shredded cod, 2 matchstick and fried potatoes, 400ml bechamel sauce, 2 grated carrots, 1 thinly sliced onion, 1 peeled and minced garlic clove, 1 bay leaf, 100ml virgin olive oil extra, grated cheese to gratin, nutmeg, salt and fresh chopped parsley to decorate (optional).
- Elaboration: We prepare a bechamel sauce like this. Once it’s ready, we get on with the rest of the recipe. Put olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion slices, the minced garlic and the bay leaf, stirring frequently, until well confitted. Add the shredded cod and grated carrots. Season with nutmeg and cook for about 7 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add the straw potatoes and mix. Add the bechamel sauce and mix again. Rectify the seasoning and remove the bay leaf. Pour the mixture onto a baking tray. Smooth the surface with a spatula and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake in a preheated oven at 190ºC until the surface is well browned. If necessary, we can give it a strong touch of gratin, so that a delicious cheese crust forms on the surface. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little chopped parsley. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Link to full recipe | Spiritual cod.
Pictures | jumpstory
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