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 Pastéis de Bacalhau (salt cod and potato fritters) as a nibble. And there’s this lovely modern Portuguese recipe variation: Chouriço and Potato Balls. Same concept but using the classic Portuguese sausage in place of fish.
My grandmother’s malassadas (Portuguese doughnuts) 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 Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese custard cups) with their shatteringly crisp shell and creamy custard.
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Portugal has been called a lot of things—diminutive, minuscule—but one thing it’s never been called is insignificant. About the size of the state of Indiana, it measures a meager 349 miles from north to south, a trip ambitious travelers can pull off in a day. Yet its major historical provinces offer wild extremes of temperature, weather, and terrain that, for centuries, have resulted in an amazing variety of some of the finest foods on the Iberian Peninsula. Distinctive and artisanal, these foods have shaped local diets, customs, and traditions, many of which have remained virtually unchanged for generations. Anyone with good sense and a better palate would do right to reserve at least a month to make that 349-mile trek.
Despite its size, Portugal has contributed mightily to world cuisine. During the Age of Discovery, under the watchful eye of Henry the Navigator and, later, the explorers Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, and others, Portugal forged expeditions along the African coast and, eventually, to the East. The result? Formerly exotic spices such as cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves were brought back to European kitchens and filled Portuguese coffers with unparalleled wealth. At about the same time, Pedro Álvares Cabral sailed westward, reaching Brazil, and opened up routes that introduced the continent, and the world, to many New World ingredients that have become hallmarks of Portuguese cooking, including chile peppers and potatoes.
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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