Bacalhoada: Brazilian Christmas Salt Cod
Alongside the turkey, the other centrepiece of the Brazilian Christmas Eve table: salt cod layered with potatoes, peppers, onion and olives, baked under a generous amount of olive oil. Thirty minutes to assemble and an hour in the oven — but the cod has to be desalted first, and that takes a full day in the fridge with water changes.
Ingredients
- 1 kg salt cod loins
- 1 kg medium potatoes
- 2 large onions, sliced into rings
- 2 red peppers, in strips
- 4 tomatoes, sliced
- 150 g pitted green olives
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, sliced
- 200 ml olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- Black pepper
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Method
- 1
Desalt the cod: put it in a bowl with cold water to cover, cover it and refrigerate for 24 hours, changing the water every 6 hours. Thick loins can need up to 48 hours; taste a small piece before going on.
- 2
Drain, pat dry and break it into large flakes, removing skin and bones. Do not shred it: the point of the dish is that you can see the pieces.
- 3
Boil the potatoes in their skins for 15 minutes, until soft outside and firm in the centre. Peel and cut into thick slices.
- 4
Soften the onion and garlic in half the olive oil over low heat until the onion is soft and sweet.
- 5
Layer it up in a dish: potatoes on the bottom, then the cod, then peppers, tomato and the onion with its oil. Repeat until everything is used.
- 6
Add the olives, the bay and plenty of black pepper. No salt goes in: the cod brings enough even after desalting.
- 7
Pour over the remaining olive oil without holding back. It is what binds the dish and what separates it from a dry bake.
- 8
Bake at 180 °C for 45 minutes, then another 15 uncovered so the top takes colour.
- 9
Finish with the sliced eggs and the parsley, out of the oven.