Bacalhau à Brás - Salted Cod with eggs, potatoes

I don't know if you remember but a few weeks ago I spoke about a care package that we recieved from Portugal from my father-in-law. In it was some Port wine, chouriço, piri piri peppers, olive oil, and some salted cod. 

Of course my hubby loves having food from his native country so he decided we needed to make something he loved from back home. This dish is basically french fries, eggs and salted cod. Salted cod isn't just cod fish that has salt on it. It's cod fish that has been dried and preserved using salt. The Portuguese word for this is Bacalhau, and no, I can't pronounce it, at least not properly. 




It is said there are 1001 recipes for Bacalhau in Portugal. Crazy part is that Portugal isn't the only place that uses bacalhau. In fact, the Scandinavian countries of Norway and Iceland is where cod comes from a lot of the time. there are also dishes from those countries as well as the Mediterranean countries from Portugal to Greece. Brazil, Macau, and Angola that also use bacalhau frequently in cooking. 


This recipe will not contain any exact measurements, as I did not do most of the prep work, the hubby did (I asked him what all he used and he couldn't tell me either) :). 


2-3 bacalhau fillets
3-4 eggs, beaten
20 kalamata olives, pitted and halved
about 3 tablespoons cilantro (usually use parsley), roughly chopped
5-6 potatoes, peeled and cut into thin french fry size
2 onions, cut in half then sliced. 
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
pepper to taste


First of all, you want to soak the bacalhau in cold water over night at the very least, if not for 2 days, changing the water every 6 hours. If you do not do this, it will be WAY too salty (notice salt was not added to the ingredients above). 


Get all your other ingredients ready before you start to cook. In a large pan (we used a wok) over medium heat, add oil. Take your cod and cook it (should take about 5 - 6 minutes), remove from the pan and allow to cool. When cooled, shred the cod with your fingers and set to the side.

Add in the onion slices and garlic, allowing the onion to soften but not brown. Next add in the potatoes/fries. You will want to watch this, as you don't want them to stick to the pan. You don't need to continuously move the fries, but make sure they don't stick to the pan, allow them to brown and get crispy. 


Once your fries are done add the cod back into the pan and mix. Add in the egg and pepper and scramble with the potatoes, onions and cod. When eggs are cooked turn off the heat and add to a dish/bowl. Top with chopped cilantro and olive halves. 



It's really good, but can be salty if you add salt or don't soak it long enough! The little one even liked it!