As a child we never had meat on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. This was the tradition in my Grandparents house, and when my parents house, and now mine.
Being that we had fish twice a week during Lent, Bacalhau was always on our weekly menu. I know what your thinking, six weeks with salted cod on your menu...how boring, but you are so wrong. Did you know that there are over 1000 different recipes for this type of fish? Talk about a versatile ingredient.
Besides Bacalhau a gomes de sa, (salted cod casserole)which it also in my blog, this is by far my favorite recipe. My mother would make this once in a while, and I wished I had written her recipe down. Now that she lives overseas, it would have come in handy when I wanted to make this dish. Being that she isn't here, I had to try to concoct something for myself. With the help of the internet I was able to come with the next best thing to my mother's recipe. I hope you all enjoy this recipe.
Recipe Adapted from David Leite,
http://leitesculinaria.com/7642/recipes-portuguese-eggs-salt-cod-potatoes-bacalhau-bras.
Recipe yields 4 to 6 servings. (FYI I think the recipe below only yields 4 servings, so it you are making this for more than 4 people, I would double the recipe.)
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
1 pound dried salt cod (soaked for 24-36 hour before using)
7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 large onion, diced
1 bay leaf
8 large eggs (I use 6, I think 8 is a little much)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO:
The most important thing that you will have to do is soak the fish. Place it in a bowl and add enough cold water to cover. Soak for 24-36 hours changing the water several times.
2. The next day, drain the fish and transfer to a large stockpot.
Cover with water, bring to a boil (you do not need to add any salt) Let simmer until the fish flakes easily, about 15 minutes once the water starts to boil.
Drain and cool. Flake the fish, discarding any bones.
Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy, large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. (If you like you could also fry the potatoes veggie oil in a deep fryer if your in a time crunch...which is what I did tonight, just keep in mind your adding more fat and calories by doing this.)
Add the potatoes in batches and saute until crisp and golden, this will take about 7 minutes per batch.
Transfer the potatoes to paper towels to drain.
Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the same skillet and add onion and bay leaf and saute until golden, about 15 minutes.
Once onions are cooked discard the bay leaf.
Reduce the heat to low. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the onion slices in the skillet. Add the fish and potatoes.
Whisk the eggs, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl to blend.
Add the egg mixture and 3 tablespoons of the parsley to the fish mixture in the skillet.
Cook over medium heat until the eggs begin to set, stirring occasionally so that your food doesn't stick, but also so your potatoes do don't turn into mush. This will take about another 3 minutes.
Transfer to a platter or serve right out of skillet.
Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve hot!
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