Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa
2 hrs 10 mins
If you’re looking to zero in on our most beloved and popular Portuguese recipes , consider the humble Pastรฉis de Bacalhau (salt cod and potato fritters) as a nibble. And there’s this lovely modern Portuguese recipe variation: Chorizo โโand Potato Balls . Same concept but using the classic Portuguese sausage in place of fish.
My grandmother’s malassadas (Portuguese donuts) are always a crowd-pleaser. And my Portuguese Orange Olive Cake , which has been sold in a few pastry shops in Paris, no less!) is divine, if I say so myself. But without a doubt, the number-one most popular Portuguese recipe here is Pastรฉis de Nata (Portuguese custard cups) with their shatteringly crisp shell and creamy custard.
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I hope you’ll join me on Sunday, December 8th, from 2 to 5 PM EST for a LIVE online baking class. I’ll be making one of the world’s most beloved sweets: the pastel de nata!
In this fun class, you learn how to layer and roll the dough to make that perfect spiral shell, cook the custard, fill the shells, and bake the tarts to get that gorgeous brown mottling on the top.
Early-bird pricing ends November 11.
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Because salt cod is one of Portugal’s iconic foods, many think the Portuguese were instrumental in its discovery, which, alas, they weren’t. Nearly five hundred years before the Portuguese began fishing for cod in the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland, the Vikings had stumbled upon one of the world’s largest caches of cod and figured out how to air-dry the fish.
The reason why salt cod is so prized in the Portuguese community, besides being a cheap and shelf-stable staple, is because the drying and salting give a superior taste and texture to an otherwise characterless fish. When a meaty slab of bacalhau is properly desalted and cooked, it will flake perfectly and have just the slightest toothsomeness.
Look for salt cod, preferably from Norway, in Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Spanish, or Latin markets. I’ve also had very good luck with several online purveyors. Buy the thickest, firmest pieces possible; they’ll make for a more substantial meal and a prettier presentation.
To reconstitute the bacalhau, rinse it well under running water to remove surface salt. Place the pieces in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Stretch plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate, changing the water several times, until the fish is sufficiently desalted for you. Take a nibble—it’s perfectly safe to eat. If it’s too salty, change the water again, and let it sit for a few more hours. The process can take anywhere from 12 to 48 hours, depending on the size of the fillet. Above all, bear this in mind: you can always add more salt, but you can’t remove it from a finished dish.
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