Portuguese Codfish Casserole

~ Bacalháu à Brás ~

Portuguese Codfish Casserole

The Portuguese Codfish Casserole is famous in Portugal and Brazil, where it is called Bacalháu à Brás, which was  the name of the creator of this delicious but easy recipe.

 

The Portuguese food is light, filling, simple, and yet sophisticated, and it is kind in your stomach as the Portuguese soul. You always feel welcome in a Portuguese home.

 

Lots of eggs characterize the best Portuguese meals and desserts. The many salted codfish recipes, brought from Norway, are the most well-known in the Portuguese culinary.

 

The Portuguese Codfish Casserole, Bacalháu à Brás, for me, is among the best! Try it out and you will always shine among your guests.

 

Etymology: Gradus Marhua

INGREDIENTS

1 lb salted codfish (you can buy it online)
1 lb sliced onions
1 lb potatoes
6 garlic cloves
2 cups olive oil
1 cup chopped olives
4 eggs
1 cup chopped green onions and Italian parsley

Wine Pairing your Portuguese Codfish Casserole

 

The good news for wine lovers is that the Portuguese Codfish Casserole, and most salted codfish dishes, pair well with white and red wines.

 

According to the Portuguese epicurean blog Mesa do Chef, the white and red wines called Bacalháu are the best pairing.

 

I prefer my codfish with vinhos verdes from Minho, but if you have a Chablis or Chardonnay, it would do well.

 

If you prefer reds, you can go for the mature fruity and subtle fumé flavor of Quinta do Valdoeiro, or a Pinot Noir.

PREPARING THE PORTUGUESE CODFISH CASSEROLE

 

Soak the salted codfish in cold water for 6 hours and change it a few times. Clean it and take all the bones if necessary. This recipe calls for codfish pieces anyway, so, it makes cleaning an easy job.

 

Slice the onions and cut the rings in halves. Slice the garlic. Pour 1 cup of olive oil to a casserole pan and add the onions and garlic to saute in medium heat until they are golden.

 

Meanwhile, peel and slice the potatoes in a shoestring shape in a mandolin. (I use an electric one.) Soak and rinse them.

 

When the onions are golden, use a skimmer to take them out and reserve. In the same olive oil, now with the flavor of onions and garlic, fry the potatoes in high heat. Reserve them together with the onions when the potatoes are done. They won’t be very crispy because they are being fried in the olive oil, but this is what the recipe calls for.

 

In the same pan and olive oil, saute the codfish. You can add more olive oil if you need.

 

While you saute the cod fish, bit the whites to castle and add the egg yolks.

 

Add the onions and potatoes back to the pan together with the codfish and mix them well. Pour the eggs in and stir rapidly, until they are cooked but light. You don’t want to overcook them! Add the chopped olives and the green onions and parsley.

 

You can serve it with white rice.

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Portuguese Codfish Casserole

thais

Thaïs Lips is an English Portuguese translator, also translating French and Spanish as source languages. She specializes in legal, financial, social sciences and pharmaceuticals. She is a conference interpreter. Thaïs attended law school in Brazil, has a Certificate of Proficiency in English from the University of Michigan and a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) certificate from the University of Colorado in Denver. She has lived in Brazil, England, Wales, France, and Oman.



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