Best Bacalhau Recipes

SALT COD, ONIONS AND POTATOES: BACALHAU A GOMES DE SA

Steps:

• Soak the cod in cold water to cover for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water occasionally, drain.
• Flake the cod into small pieces, removing any bones. Set aside. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until lightly golden, about 6 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a medium ovenproof casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
• Spread half of the potatoes over the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle half of the salt cod over the potatoes. Place half of the onion mixture over the salt cod. Top the onion mixture with more salt cod. Place another layer of potatoes over the top of the cod. Drizzle the entire pan with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Place on a serving platter. Garnish with the sliced eggs, olives, and parsley.

BACALHAU A GOMES DE SA (SALT COD, ONIONS AND POTATOES)

Steps:

• Soak the cod in cold water to cover for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water occasionally, drain. Flake the cod into small pieces, removing any bones. Set aside. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until slightly golden, about 6 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a medium ovenproof casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Spread half of the potatoes over the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle half of the salt cod over the potatoes. Place half of the onion mixture over the salt cod. Top the onion mixture with more salt cod. Place another layer of potatoes over the top of the cod. Drizzle the entire pan with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Place on a serving platter. Garnish with the sliced eggs, olives, and parsley.

BACALHAU PORTUGUESE AO FORNO (SALT COD WITH TOMATOES AND OLIVES)

Steps:

• Soak cod in a large bowl of water in the refrigerator for 24 hours, changing soaking water 4 times to remove excess salt.
• Drain water off cod; add lemon juice and salt. Let marinate in the refrigerator, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange layers of cod, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes in a large baking dish. Place bay leaves on top. Drizzle olive oil over baking dish and season with salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven until potatoes are tender and cod flakes easily with a fork, about 30 minutes. Add olives and parsley and continue baking until heated through, about 3 minutes more.

BACALHAU (SALT COD) WITH CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Prepare Bacalhau.
• Soak fish in water for at least 24 hours and preferably 48 hours, changing the water 3 to 4 times per day.
• Drain the fish, rinse well and place in a saucepan with enough water to cover.
• Bring to a boil.
• Taste the water; if it is too salty, drain the fish, add fresh water and bring to a boil again.
• Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Drain and let cool.
• Remove any skin and bones and separate the fish into coarse flakes.
• Prepare the stew.
• In a heavy skillet, heat the olive oil and cook the onion slowly until it is golden.
• Stir in the Bacalhau and heat for two minutes.
• Add chickpeas, parsley, vinegar, garlic, piri-piri, salt and pepper and cook for another two minutes or until the mixture is completely warmed through.
• Serve garnished with the hard boiled eggs and olives.

PORTUGUESE BACALHAU à BRáS (SALT COD AND POTATOES)

Steps:

• Note: Soak Cod fish in water overnight.
• Next day change water and place Cod in a pot with enough water to cover it. Boil for about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool. Once Cod has cooled, flake it.
• Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to non stick pan and fry potatoes in batches each time using another tbsp of olive oil if necessary.
• Place paper towel on the bottom of a glass dish safe for the oven and keep fries warm in the oven.
• Once you are done with the potatoes add 1 tbsp of olive oil to pan and add the bay leaf. Simmer for about 2-3 minutes. remove bay leafs from pan (discard).
• add garlic, onions (pepper flakes if using) to the pan and saute until onions begin to soften.
• add the parsley and let saute a bit.
• add flaked Cod and keep tossing until Cod gets warm.
• add the eggs, keep stirring so not to let the eggs stick to pan. this mixture will start to look like scrambled eggs.
• Once you are done with your Cod and eggs mixture.
• Combine fries with Cod mixture.
• add olives if using.
• taste, add salt and black pepper if needed.
• when serving squeeze lemon juice from a slice of lemon ontop.
• add dash of tabsco sauce if using.
• Enjoy.

BAKED BACALHAU / SALTED COD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Place potatoes in a large pot of water bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes and remove placing on towels to air dry.
• Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil in a large heavy bottom pan Saute garlic for 30 seconds and stir in potatoes, then sliced onions and peppers.
• Mix salt pepper, parsley and paprika together.
• Season the vegetables with 3/4 of the mix.
• Season the cod with the remaining spice mix.
• Nestle the cod in between the vegetable mix.
• Drizzle with Olive oil and add white wine.
• Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until its all cooked through.
• Toss the mixture every once or twice so that all flavours get incorporated.
• Raise oven to 425. Toss and top with olives baking for 10 more minutes.
• Enjoy!

BAKED COD ( BACALHAU NO FORNO)

Steps:

• After soaking the cod, remove from the water and dry well with a kitchen towel.
• Peel your onions and slice them into half moons also peel the garlic and chop it up.
• Under hot water remove the tomatoes skins and slice them up.
• In a rectangle casserole dish place in 1/2 of the olive oil and1/2 of the wine.
• Spread the onions, garlic, sliced tomatoes bay leaf, and the potatoes (if you can't find small find small potatoes use normal ones and have them cut into quarters, you also may add more potatoes if you like).
• Now place the cod over top of everything and drizzle the remaining wine and olive oil over each fillet.
• Keep basting the cod with the remaining olive oil so as not to dry out on you.
• Bake at 380°F for about 1 hour or when potatoes are cooked.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with parsley (serve with a green tossed salad, and enjoy.

BOLINOS DE BACALHAU (PORTUGUESE COD CAKES)

Steps:

• A day or two before making the fish cakes, put the cod to soak in cold water. Change the water four or five times during this period.
• Drain the cod and rinse it well under cold running water. Cover with fresh water in a saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until cod is soft.
• While the cod is simmering, cook the potatoes in their skins, then peel and mash with butter and milk.
• When the cod is ready, drain it thoroughly and remove the skin and bones. Shred the cod with a couple of forks. Add the creamed potatoes, parsley, mint, pepper, egg yolks, and the port. Mix thoroughly. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the cod mixture.
• Heat the oil in a deep fryer or heavy deep pot to 375 degrees F.
• Take a lump of the mixture, about the size of a small egg, and mold it in your hand to make a torpedo shape. Deep fry, in small batches, until crisp and brown all over. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

BACALHAU A BRAS (SALT COD SCRAMBLED WITH EGGS AND POTATOES)

Steps:

• Soak the cod overnight in several changes of cool water. Next day rinse the cod well, discard the skin, then with the fingers tear the cod into fine shreds and set aside.
• Lay the potatoes, one at a time, in the feed tube of a food processor fitted with the fine shredding disc and cut them into long thin shreds. Empty into a large sieve and rinse well under cool water. Pat potatoes very dry on paper towels.
• Meanwhile, heat the corn oil in deep 10-inch skillet or saute pan to 380 degrees, then fry the potatoes in small batches, separating the shreds, 8 to 10 seconds until the color of straw. With a skimmer lift the potatoes to paper towels to drain.
• In a heavy 12-inch skillet (not iron) set over low heat, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil 2 minutes until they begin to color; turn the heat to its lowest point, cover and steam 20 minutes.
• Mix the cod into the onion mixture, cover and steam 10 minutes.
• Quickly whisk the eggs with the black pepper until frothy. Toss half the reserved potatoes with the cod mixture, pour in the eggs and raise the heat to moderate. Scramble 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until softly set.
• Ladle onto a small heated platter, wreathe with the remaining potatoes, sprinkle with parsley, garnish with black olives and serve.

BACALHAU à GOMES DE Sá /COD & POTATO CAPE VERD

Steps:

• Preheat your oven at 400°F (200°C).
• Hard boil your eggs in the potato water.
• Cover the peeled potatoes in water and boil until they are just cooked though, then drain the water and cut them into thin slices and then cut them further into approximately 1 inch x 1 inch ( 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm) bits. It doesn't have to be really precise, just so that the potato slices are in small bits roughly all the same size.
• Put the olive oil into a fry pan and gently saute the onion and garlic until golden but not browned.
• Peel the hard boiled eggs and roughly chop 5 of them, but carefully slice the last egg into rounds for decoration.
• Mix, but don't mash! the flaked, cooked, salt cod with the potato, onion and garlic mixture, then add the nutmeg and pepper and parsley. If the mixture is too dry, a very small amount of water can be added to make it only just stick together.
• Spoon the mix into a baking dish and lay out the decorative egg rounds on the top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes until it is completely warmed though.

POTATO, ONION AND SALT COD CASSEROLE (BACALHAU A GOMES DE SA - PORTUGAL)

Steps:

• Soak the cod in water overnight in the refrigerator, changing the water several times. Drain and rinse well. Place the cod in a large saucepan and add the boiling water. Simmer over moderate heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cod flakes easily. Drain and rinse well, and flake into small pieces, removing any bones and bits of skin. Boil the potatoes until tender but firm, drain, and allow to cool. Peel and slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender but not brown. Remove the onions and garlic from the skillet and set aside. Add the sliced potatoes to the skillet, along with more olive oil if necessary, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Layer half the potatoes in a well greased 2-quart casserole or gratin dish. Sprinkle with parsley and pepper, add one third of the onion mixture, and half the cod. Repeat, ending with a layer of the onion mixture. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and lightly browned. Arrange the egg wedges and olives attractively on top, and sprinkle with a little chopped parsley.

SALT COD FRITTERS: PASTEIS DE BACALHAU

Steps:

• Starting a day ahead, soak the dried cod in cold water for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water several times to remove the majority of the salt. Drain the cod, rinse, and put it in a large pot. Add the milk and enough water to cover by 1-inch; cooking the cod in milk keeps it really moist. Simmer gently over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cod is tender and pliable. Drain and rinse well, then flake the cod into a bowl with your hands, removing any little bits of skin and bone.
• While the cod is cooking, pour 1-inch of water in a large pot fitted with a steamer insert. Add the potatoes and simmer on medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes until very tender. Drain the potatoes, peel off the skins, and mash them well with a potato masher or pass them through a ricer or sieve.
• Add the cod to the potatoes, along with the onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and eggs. Beat the mixture firmly with a wooden spoon so that it well combined and firm ¿ a spoon should stand up in it. (If you find it too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk.) Season with a pinch of pepper and taste for salt - you may not need to add any, as the cod itself retains enough saltiness, in spite of being soaked and boiled. With lightly moistened hands or using 2 tablespoons, shape the cod mixture into egg-shaped balls ¿ you should get about 25. (The cod balls can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day before cooking or frozen in a container.)
• Heat 3-inches of oil in a deep heavy skillet or pot to 370 degrees F. Add a few of the cod balls at a time to the hot oil, turning them 3 or 4 times to get nicely browned all over. Carefully lift the cod fritters out of the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a platter lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat. Serve hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges.

SALT COD (BACALHAU, BACALAO, MORUE, BACCALà) STEW

Steps:

• Soak the salt cod in lots of cold water for at least 24 hours, changing the water every 4-6 hours to remove the salt. Salt cod varies in its saltiness, and some may need as much as 48 hours to soak. Do not skimp on the soaking, because I don't know how to remove the salt later in the recipe!
• When you are ready to cook the stew, soften the onion and garlic in the olive oil.
• When soft, add the tinned tomatoes, fresh cherry tomatoes and herbes de provence.
• Drain the salt cod, rinsing well, and squeezing out all the water.
• Add the cod to the saucepan with the tomato mixture, and stir well.
• Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes until the fish is nearly cooked.
• Add the courgettes (zucchini), chilli flakes, fennel seeds, chopped capers and black pepper.
• Turn up the heat and boil until the courgettes (zucchini) are cooked and the liquid has mostly evaporated, leaving a stew -like consistency. This took me about 20 minutes.
• Stir in the shredded basil leaves, then serve the fish stew immediately with mashed potatoes or polenta.

BACALHAU A GOMES DE SA (PORTUGUESE SALTED COD CASSEROLE)

Steps:

• Soak the cod in cold water to cover for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water occasionally, drain. Flake the cod into small pieces, removing any bones. Set aside. In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until slightly golden, about 6 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Grease a medium ovenproof casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
• Spread half of the potatoes over the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle half of the salt cod over the potatoes. Place half of the onion mixture over the salt cod. Top the onion mixture with more salt cod. Place another layer of potatoes over the top of the cod. Drizzle the entire pan with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Place on a serving platter. Garnish with the sliced eggs, olives, paprika and parsley.
• Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

BRASILIAN DEEP FRIED FISH FRITTERS: BOLINOS DE BACALHAU

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
• Cook the haddock with the milk and bay leaves, in a tray covered with foil, for 15 minutes.
• Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes until soft. Drain them, then dry out in the pan on the heat and mash.
• Flake the cooked fish into a large bowl, picking out any bones. Add the mashed potato, finely chopped parsley and mint, lemon zest, eggs, chile and salt and pepper. Mix well, taste. Add more salt, if necessary.
• Flour your work surface, then take 1 tablespoon of the mix in your hands with a little flour and make into torpedo-shaped fritters, rolling in the flour. Rough and ready is good.
• Pour enough oil into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan to fill the pan about a 1/3 of the way up. Heat over a medium heat until a deep frying thermometer inserted into the oil reaches 360 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer, a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.) Deep-fry the fritters for about 5 minutes until brown and crispy. Drain on kitchen towel, sprinkle with sea salt and serve on a large plate with lots of lemon halves.

BACALHAU CHICKPEA SALAD

Steps:

• 1. Wash and soak the cod in a bowl of water. Change the water 3 times over the course of 8-10 hours.
• 2. In a saucepan, add the cod and water. Bring the water to a boil 1-2 minutes. Drain the water and tear the bacalhau into small pieces.
• 3. In a large bowl add the pieces of bacalhau along with the rest of the ingredients. Toss the ingredients together well and serve, room temperature, or chill and serve cold.

BOLINHO DE BACALHAU (SALT-COD FRITTERS)

Steps:

• The day before cooking, prepare the salt cod by rinsing under cold water. Place the fillets in a bowl and fill with cold water. Refrigerate, changing water occasionally, about 24 hours. The fish should be soft when ready.
• Place the potatoes in a pot and fill with lightly salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft. Drain, mash and set aside.
• Drain the fillets and shred into a bowl. Add the potatoes, onion, egg yolks, garlic, parsley and olive oil. Work the mixture until it is blended. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour oil into a saucepan about 3 inches deep. Place over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, shape the fish mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Test the oil by dropping in a little batter; if it sizzles immediately, the oil is ready. Carefully drop a few balls in; do not crowd. Fry until golden, about 2 minutes, then remove and drain. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve hot.

BACALHAU A GOMES DE SA (COD FISH)

Steps:

• 1. In large pan, place potatoes covered with cold water. Add salt and bring to boil and cook for 10 minutes. Place boneless codfish over boiling potatoes and cook for about 8 minutes or until flaky.
• 2. Remove cod fish from pan and set aside to cool. Potatoes should be done. Drain and set aside. When cool, slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices
• 3. In large skillet saute sliced onions, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and bay leaf in 1/2 cup of the olive oil until golden brown then take out bay leaf and let them cool.
• 4. Grease a large lasagna type pan with olive oil. Start layering potatoes, flaked cod, onions, drizzle olive oil, pepper, potatoes, cod, onions, olive oil, pepper. Make sure you end up with onions on top.
• 5. Cover with foil and cook in oven for about 20 minutes (350 degrees). Arrange cooked egg slices on top of the onion layer. Cook uncovered for another 5-10 minutes to desired crispness.
• 6. Remove from oven and add parsley for garnish.

BACALHAU CREMOSO (BRAZILIAN SALT COD DIP)

Steps:

• Soak cod in a large bowl of water in the refrigerator for 24 hours, changing soaking water 4 to 5 times to remove the salt.
• Rinse the cod under running water; drain. Remove skin and bones.
• Transfer cod to a saucepan and cover with water. Heat over low heat until it is soft and flakes easily with a fork, about 30 minutes. Drain cod and let cool until easily handled, about 15 minutes. Shred finely and transfer to a large saucepan.
• Place saucepan over low heat. Pour in olive oil in a slow, steady stream, beating vigorously, until mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, parsley, salt, and white pepper. Let cool before serving, about 15 minutes.

BACALHAU A BRAS

Steps:

• Fry chopped onion and garlic in oil.
• When cooked, add shredded, cooled, cod fish.
• Fry for about 5-6 minutes.
• Add beaten eggs, salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook until eggs are cooked.
• Place on a platter and sprinkle parsley over top.
• Use lemon pieces as a garnish- may also squeeze lemon juice from pieces on individual servings- up to you.