Archive for the ‘Fish’ Category
Bacalhau
Baked Fish/Peixe no Forno
Octopus Tartare/Tartaro de Polvo
Sardines with chickpeas and poached egg/Conserva de Sardinhas com Grão e Ovo Escalfado
Portuguese fast food. Lunch for one with your favourite tin of sardines (we used sardines in tomato sauce), some chickpeas and a poached egg. This is literally quicker than ordering a pizza, much healthier and much tastier (than your average pizza)…
Spanish style sauce/Molho à Espanhola
Mussels à la Portuguaise/Mexilhão à Portuguesa
Bacalhau à Bráz
Bacalhau (salted cod fish) is renowned for its versatility. Portugal’s obsession with this cured fish has produced, some say, more than 1000 variations. Bacalhau à Braz is certainly one of the classics. Created by Mr Bráz, owner of a tavern in Lisbon’s bohemian Bairro Alto, this dish combines shredded bacalhau with eggs to create a delicious snack or quick lunch. This recipe is a ‘low carb’ variation, substituting the traditional fried potatoes with grated carrots. This makes for a lighter, more colourful dish which still honours the magic combination of bacalhau, olive oil and garlic. Bacalhau must be soaked in cold water for 3 days (changing the water twice a day) before cooking. Alternatively you can buy already soaked cod in frozen packs. The original recipe asks for the cod to be boiled before shredding. I don’t find this necessary and I believe you get a better taste and texture from using it raw straight into the pan.
Seafood chowder/Sopa Branca do Mar
Preserved Sardines/Sardinha de Conserva
Sardines are a big deal in Portugal. Together with bacalhau (salted cod), the sardine has become a symbol of Portuguese food and culture recognised around the world. A visitor to Portugal will not need to search much to see sardines on a menu, printed on t-shirts, made out porcelain, on designer goods etc…
Oven roasted salted cod/Bacalhau assado no forno
One of the classics amongst the 1001 bacalhau recipes that guide the Portuguese through each calendar year. This way of cooking cod intensifies its salty flavour and produces an irresistible sauce resulting from the mix of olive oil, garlic and the cod juices. Accompanying the cod is a bed of spring greens and the obligatory “batatas a murro”, baked potatoes, punched open just before serving.
Salted cod needs to be soaked in cold water for 2-3 days (depending on the thickness of the steaks). Water should be changed twice daily.