Tagged: salt cod

Holiday Recipes / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes / Side Dish

Bachalhau Com Grao Assado- Salt Cod with Chick Pea Bake

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One bite brings me home to Portugal!

DSC06666Bacalhau com Grao is as classic home comfort food, one of the most popular dishes, and served in most Portuguese homes and restaurants. This recipe is versatile, so you can add more or less of the ingredients to your taste. You can serve this dish as a hot bake or as a cold salad. You can also substitute the chick peas with chopped cooked potatoes, or use many bean varieties such as black eyed peas, white beans etc. I sauteed the onions for a sweet flavor addition but many recipes use raw chopped onions. Once you try this recipe you’ll find that you’ll make it often because it’s so easy to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 pounds of cooked and flaked salt cod

1 large onion (sliced)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

2 large 28 -32 oz. cans of cooked chick peas

6 hard boiled eggs (crumbled)

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup of Portuguese olive oil

3 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley for garnish

olives for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

dash of white wine vinegar

Preparation:

Drain and rinse the chick peas and set aside.

Saute the onions in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil until caramel colored. Remove bay leaf and add a pinch of salt and pepper.

In a deep dish pan, layer 1/2 of the chick peas, followed by 1/2 of the cod. Top with 1/2 of the sauteed onions and 1/2 of the garlic. Repeat with remaining chick peas, cod, onions and garlic.

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Top evenly with eggs and poor the remaining olive oil on top. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and a drizzle of the vinegar. Top with the eggs and place in a 350 F. oven for about 15 minutes or until hot. Garnish with the fresh parsley and olives and serve with more olive oil on the side if needed.

If you want to serve it cold just top with the eggs, parsley and olives and enjoy!

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Main Dish / Photo Gallery

Bacalhau com Batatas a Rodelas a Tia Maria

My family loves bacalhau so I’m always trying new recipes. This week I gave the classic “Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa” a makeover by making it as a scalloped potato layered bake. It was very simple to prepare since I didn’t have to cook the potatoes a head of time like the traditional recipe.

The thin sliced potatoes mixed with the sweet onions and olive oil tones down the saltiness of bacalhau creating a wonderful blend.

This recipe is pretty versatile so you can go ahead and add lots of bacalhau or as little as you wish. We all decided that I would make this recipe from now on. Enjoy everyone!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds of 1/8 inch thin sliced potatoes (washed with skin on)

1 and 1/2 pounds to 2 pounds of hydrated de-salted bacalhau (salt cod)

3 large onions (sliced 1/8 inch)

4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1 cup of olive oil

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon or more salt to taste

1 large roasted red pepper (cut into strips) (fresh or jarred)

Optional garnish: chopped parsley, sliced hard boiled eggs

Preparation:

Cook the cod in boiling water for about 5 -10 minutes depending on thickness.

Saute the onions and garlic in 1/4 cup of the olive oil until caramel colored.

Coat a large deep dish oven pan with olive oil and spread a small layer of the cooked onions.

Begin layering; potatoes, cod followed by onions and olive oil, then salt and pepper.

Complete the layers with the onions on top and arrange the red pepper on top.

Top with foil. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook for 30-40 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and cook for 30-40 minutes longer.

Test for doneness by piercing one potato in the middle of the pan.

Garnish with black olives and serve with extra olive oil for serving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appetizers / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Ceviche de Bacalhau com Broa – Salt Cod Ceviche on Portuguese Corn Bread

I learned this recipe from my mother many years ago so I guess she was way ahead of her time since ceviche is a new trendy dining experience. Those of you that really love the taste of Bacalhau will love it. It makes a unique appetizer for your next party. Be sure to serve it with some Vinho Verde or very dry white wine.

Traditional ceviche consists of raw seafood tossed with kind of an acidic marinade such as vinegar or lemon juice which “cooks” the fish as it marinades. I served the ceviche on Portuguese Corn Bread because the texture of the bread pairs very well with the cod but you can serve it on any crusty firm bread.

Notice the platter that it’s served on is the famous ceramics of Coimbra, Portugal. The pottery recreates famous tapestries  of the XVII century which depicted the famous hunting grounds and it’s animal inhabitants, often visited by the Monarchs.

My flea market find for $5.00 was unbelievable!

Serves 4-8 as appetizers

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) portion of uncooked hydrated salt cod

1 very small onion (finely minced)

2 cloves garlic (finely minced)

3 sprigs fresh parsley (finely chopped)

2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 – 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar

Black pepper

Preparation:

Shred the cod fish with a knife and fork into very small pieces and place into a small bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Let the cod marinade for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

When ready to serve, taste and add more olive oil, or vinegar, or seasonings if desired.

Use the same day because the cod can become very mushy as it marinades for too long a time.

Broa – Corn Bread Click on image for the recipe

Holiday Recipes / Main Dish / Photo Gallery / Recipes

Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo – Codfish & Pototao Casserole

 

 

Salted Cod or Bacalhau as it is known in Portugal is a major ingredient in the Portuguese diet since the discovery of Newfoundland in 1497.

Fisherman began fishing its cod-rich Grand Banks and Bacalhau was nicknamed Fiel amigo (faithful friend).

The fish became popular in Portugal and other Catholic countries, when it was substituted on days of fasting from eating meat on Fridays, Lent, and other festivals.

Today, the legend is that the Portuguese have 365 or more recipes for bacalhau, one for each day of the year.

The recipe originates from the city of Porto, Portugal, and is named after its creator, Zé do Pipo, who owned a famous restaurant in that city during the 1960s. He won a national cooking contest with this dish. Since then, many restaurants have adopted it in their menus which has it made it extremely popular!

 

 

Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo

Ingredients:

1 lb Bacalhau (de salted – cut into 4 portion loins)

8 large potatoes

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 large sliced onion

1 diced garlic clove

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp butter

1 cup milk

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 small roasted red pepper

black olives

1 tsp salt

pepper

parsley

1/4 cup flour for frying codfish

 

Instructions:

Peel and cook potatoes in boiling salted water for about 25 minutes. Remove from heat, drain potatoes, add the milk, butter, egg yolk and pepper and mash. Set the potatoes aside.

Coat the codfish in flour and fry in the olive oil on medium – low heat until golden brown. Place on paper towels to soak off excess oil.

Saute the onions, garlic and bay leaf in the same olive oil that you cooked the fish in, until lightly browned. Remove the bay leaf.

Place the codfish portions in a large oven safe casserole dish or in individual serving size dishes.

Coat the codfish with the onions and surround with the mashed potatoes.

Coat the codfish with a few tablespoons of the mayonnaise, the top each with a slice of red pepper.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the mayonnaise is golden brown.

Garnish with olives and parsley.

Watch this video for the preparation instructions.

photo credits:http://chefdelucca.com/site/?p=487