Paloma Faith's bacalhau à Brás | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the national dish of bacalhau? ›

Bacalhau (salted codfish) is the most popular base commodity in Portuguese cooking. Traditionally there are more than 365 different dishes, one for each day of the year. Bacalhau is so ingrained in the Portuguese national psyche that the dish is served as the main celebration meal at Christmas.

Bacalhau is Portuguese for dry, salted cod, and is referred to as Bacalao in Spain or Bacala in Italy. Today we take a look at it from a Portuguese perspective. Historically, Bacalhau was the staple for these three predominately Catholic countries during Lent, when meat was considered a forbidden food.

Bacalhau à Brás

It's an all time favourite in Lisbon. It consists of onions, garlic, crispy thin potatoes, and shredded bacalhau, all put together with scrambled eggs. Usually olives and parsley are added on top. The delicious combination of flavours creates a really satisfying dish.

It all started with the Vikings…

The consumption of salted cod quickly spread throughout Portugal due to its low cost and easy transportation. At the turn of the 15th century, the Portuguese became pioneers in setting up large ships for cod fishing.

This dish is also popular in Portugal and other Roman Catholic countries because of historical fasting rules, which forbade the eating of meat on many days (Fridays, Lent, and other festivals), and so bacalhau dishes were eaten instead.

Eating bacalhau as part of a healthy eating pattern can contribute to a healthier diet. There are lean meats that are low in calories and can be included in a variety of dishes. The drying and salting process of the cod helps to preserve it, making it a convenient and long-lasting protein source.

Bacalhau naturally dates back to the days before refrigeration: Drying and salting served to preserve the fish.

Baccalà is the name for cod that has been cured, or preserved, with salt. The resulting fish is pleasantly flaky in texture with an irresistibly intense and unusual—but never fishy—flavor. In Italy, baccalà is a celebrated fish and a fish for celebrations.

A «classic» bacalao needs an aromatic and fresh wine with a good acidity. In case you are using a lot of chilli, go for a wine that has a little bit of sweetness.

Storing Bacalao

Before soaking the bacalao, it can be in your refrigerator almost indefinitely, but wrap it well with many layers of plastic wrap and inside of a zip-top bag, as it can be smelly and overpower your kitchen.

Do Brazilians eat bacalhau? ›

Brazilians eat bacalhau all year long, but it is most commonly prepared during the week of Easter, namely on Good Friday. If you are in search of a variation of this recipe but still want the flavor of salted cod, salt cod in cream is a similar dish that is also common during this time of year.

Bacalhau

The national dish of Portugal, bacalhau is dried and salted codfish, which is usually soaked in milk or water before cooking. The Portuguese have been eating bacalhau since the 16th century when their fishing boats brought it back from Newfoundland.

Bacalhau is delicious cooked any number of ways with ingredients available in Portugal (notably good olive oil) and the nearby Mediterranean countries. Besides bacalau (cod fish), what are other popular types of fish eaten in Portugal? “Bacalhau” and sardines. Those are the most popular fish among us.

Ackee and saltfish is the Jamaican national dish prepared with ackee and salted codfish.

2. Bacalhau. The national dish of Portugal, bacalhau is dried and salted codfish, which is usually soaked in milk or water before cooking. The Portuguese have been eating bacalhau since the 16th century when their fishing boats brought it back from Newfoundland.

The religious practices widely spread in Portugal were decisive in the process that established codfish as the greatest symbol of Portuguese culture.