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

FAQs

How many bacalhau dishes are there? ›

Cuisine. There are numerous bacalhau recipe variations, depending on region and tradition. In Portugal, it is said there are more than 365 ways to cook bacalhau, one for every day of the year; others say there are 1,001 ways. Whatever the exact number, bacalhau is a ubiquitous ingredient in Portuguese cuisine.

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.

The flavor is very mild overall and not too fishy. It has a subtle, sweet flavor and is very firm once the sodium has been removed. Bacalao is less tender than regular cod or other white fish in general. It's still pretty delicate though and flakes easily once it has been well cooked.

Salt cod, also known as bacalao, is a dried and salted codfish dish that is enjoyed all over the world but is especially well-liked in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Its long history as a preserved meal dates all the way back to the Roman Empire.

Bacalhau in Portuguese aka dried and salted codfish

If you are in Portugal, when you say bacalhau, it's implicit that you are referring to the salted and dried codfish. In fact, 95% of the codfish that Portuguese cook and eat is dried and salty.

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.

It is among the countries in the world with the highest fish consumption per capita. Species like the sardine, Atlantic mackerel, tuna, and the European hake are important for the Portuguese commercial capture fisheries. Other, widely used species in Portuguese cuisine is the cod, known in Portugal as bacalhau.

Helena tells us “You can keep desalted bacalao in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days like any fresh fish. Alternatively, you can freeze it for whenever you want to cook it.”

Does baccalà smell? ›

When shopping for baccalà, look for fish with flesh that is white and clean with no yellowing. The cod should have a strong fish odor. Be wary of any chemical smells.

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.

There are three cod species known, Atlantic, Pacific and Greenland.

Baccalà mantecato was created during the 18th century in Venice. However, the use of salt cod to Venetian cuisine was first introduced in the 15th century by Pietro Querini was shipwrecked on the Norwegian island of Røst. Querini and his crew learned how to salt cod from local fisherman.