Friendly Friday Blog Challenge: Something Fishy – Codfish with Cream / Bacalhau com Natas

The Friendly Friday Challenge is now a fortnightly challenge co-hosted by Amanda from Something to Ponder About and Sandy from The Sandy Chronicles.

For the next two weeks, the Friendly Friday Blog Challenge is asking us to share a story, photographs, poem or recipe on the theme: Something Fishy.

I could not be part of this challenge and not write again about the most traditional fish in Portugal: Codfish.

Codfish has been part of Portuguese history since 15th century, connected to the Age of Discovery. Codfish was the perfect fish that could last a long seafaring. On the 18th and 19th century the consumption of cod got associated with the aristocracy. Along the way, the Catholic Church referred to codfish, as the perfect food to have in religious celebrations, because it was a way of fasting from meat, seen as a lust or sin. Nowadays cod represents an identity for Portuguese culture and as Portuguese, I decided to bring my favourite recipe called: codfish with cream or in Portuguese “Bacalhau com Natas”. This is a recipe that everyone likes it, even for those that hate fish, I assure you.

If you don’t like recipes with dairy products, then you can always check my post https://michelegoesglossy.com/2021/04/02/portuguese-easter/ where I’ve published a recipe also with cod, where the milk to boil the codfish can just be replaced by water.

CODFISH WITH CREAM RECIPE/BACALHAU COM NATAS

Ingredients for 6 people:

• 800gr of cod
• 2 teaspoons of nutmeg
• 4 leaves of bay leaves
• Salt
• 300gr of milk
• 1kg of potatoes
• Enough vegetable oil to fry the potatoes
• 3 medium size onions
• 6 spoons of olive oil
• 300gr bechamel sauce
• 200gr grated cheese
• Preheat oven at 180 degrees

Preparation:

• Simmer the cod in water mixed with the milk. Water and milk together should cover cod, but never be above. Add nutmeg, bay leaves and salt. After boiling, leave the cod to cool down.

• Meanwhile, peel potatoes and onions, cutting both in cubes.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and when it gets hot, add the potatoes cut in cubes until they get crispy and brown

• After frying the potatoes, let them rest on a tray with kitchen roll to absorb the oil.
• Once the codfish has cooled, shred it into small pieces and leave it aside. Keep the mixture where the cod was boiled aside as well.

• Sizzle the chopped onions in the olive oil until they start to get brown.

• Add to the onions whilst sizzling, the cod and the potatoes. If it looks dry, after mixing everything together, add a little bit of the mixture where the cod was cooked .
• Pass the ensemble into an oven tray and add the bechamel sauce, mixing all together until the bechamel gets evenly distributed.
• On top, put the grated cheese and place the tray in the oven for 30 minutes.
• When ready, serve on its own or with some salad.

Hope you enjoy it! Bom apetite 🙂