Bacalhau à Brás
Bacalhau or, salt cod, features in many traditional Portuguese dishes. It is used in tasty little croquettes and fritters, in a salad with chickpeas, as well as many baked, grilled, or broiled dishes.
Bacalhau or salted cod is found through out Portugal . You can find stacks of it at the local market or even in the grocery store chains
On of my favorite dishes is Bacalhau à Brás. Bacalhau à Brás is made with salt cod that has been soaked and then shredded, thin matchsticks of potato fried until crispy, sautéed onion, all combined with softly scrambled eggs, then garnished with black olives and parsley.
In Portugal you will find Bacalhau à Brás on the menu everywhere from small neighborhood tascas to many high-end restaurants.
It’s pure comfort food, and easy to recreate at home. It all comes together so quickly; it makes for a perfect weeknight dinner or make it for Sunday brunch.
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacalhau salted cod, soaked overnight
- 1 pound potatoes, peeled
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1 to 2 clove of garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- Small handful fresh parsley chopped
- 10 to 12 black olives
Instructions
- The day before you are going to make the Bacalhau à Brás rinse the salt cod under cold water to remove surface salt. Place the cod in a large bowl or container with enough cold water to cover it completely. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours or longer, changing the water 2-3 times.
- Drain and discard the water and pat the fish dry with paper towels. Remove any skin or bones from the cod and discard. Coarsely shred the cod into bit sized pieces and set aside.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into matchsticks, or shred or grate them using a cheese grater or the grater attachment of a food processor or mandolin. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium-high until shimmering. Add 1/2 the potatoes and cook, stirring the potatoes to avoid clumping, until crisp and golden, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer the potatoes with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining 1/2 of the potatoes.Remove the remaining oil from the pan
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs with a little salt and pepper
- Return the pan to the heat and add the olive oil. Add the sliced onion and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 -2 minutes.
- Add the cod and 3/4 the potatoes and stir gently to combine and warm through. Note: You can mix in all of the potatoes at this point or it's nice to reserve 1/4 of the crispy potatoes for topping the completed dish.Now add in the eggs and 1/2 the parsley, stir gently to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the eggs are just softly set.
- Transfer to a platter. Garnish with the olives, the reserved crispy potatoes ( see note above) and the remaining parsley.