Bacalhau à Brás

Shop selling salted dried fish (bacalhau)

Salted dried codfish:

Before refrigeration, there was a need to preserve the codfish; drying and salting are ancient techniques to preserve nutrients and the process makes the codfish tastier. The essential ingredient, salted dried codfish, usually comes from Norway, Iceland or America. It used to be very affordable, but with the collapse of the cod stocks and dismantling of Portuguese specific fleet, it became more expensive, especially near Christmas time, since it's a part of many traditional dishes of the holiday season.

In Netherlands we can buy salted dried codfish from Suriname and Indonesia shops.

Calories: aprox. 500 kcal

Ingredients:
(Serving for 4 persons)

• 400 g of salt cod;
• 3 tablespoons olive oil;
• 500 g potatoes;
• 6 eggs;
• 3 onions;
• 1 clove garlic;
• parsley, salt, pepper, black olives
• oil

Preparation method:

1. Boil the cod fish filets for 15 minutes. Rinse with warm water for some minutes to take the salt away. Save it for later.
2. Cut the potatoes in straw and onions, sliced thin.
3. Chop garlic.
4. Fry potatoes in hot oil just until browned slightly. Trickle-up on kitchen papper.
5. In a pot with thick bottom fry the onion and garlic in olive oil. Let it simmer slowly until the onions cook.
6. Then add the codfish and stir with a wooden spoon until the cod is thoroughly impregnated with the fat.
7. Add the potatoes in the pan and then lay the egg slightly beaten. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Stir with a wooden fork, and as soon as the eggs are cooked, remove from the fire and pour the cod on a plate or platter.
9. Sprinkle with parsley and serve it piping hot. 
10. Serve with black olives.