Spiritual codfish, a typical Portuguese Easter recipe
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Total: 1 h 45 min Diners: 4
Easter is just around the corner and, especially here in Spain, it is customary to follow, albeit by custom rather than religion, gastronomic frugality and carnivorous fasting during the vigil season.
On these dates, once meat has been dispensed with, there is one product that reigns supreme and stands out above the rest on all tables: cod. It is not known if it is because of the legend of a merchant who overdid his brakes on an order or simply because it was a habit to salt and eat inside.
Whatever the case, cod is one of the foods with more recipes that exist: in omelette, in green sauce, in the form of meatballs or salad, it is easily found in many peninsular recipes. And so it is, cod is not only famous in Spain, but in our neighboring Portugal is its most recognizable gastronomic symbol and, today’s recipe, the spiritual cod, one of its stars.
Despite this fact, it is worth remembering that cod is a fish widely consumed in Portuguese territory, but native to the North Atlantic. In the past, the Portuguese exchanged salt for fish and it was they themselves who favored its consumption and made it typical. Thus, it could almost be said that they managed to devise a recipe for every day of the year, so that, today, everyone knows dishes such as cataplana or golden cod. However, not many have heard of one of its most emblematic preparations and consumed in cities like Lisbon: the spiritual cod.
The best thing about this preparation is that it starts from one of the pillars of world cuisine: a good stir-fry full of flavor. From there, with lots of onions, you can add whatever you want; but of course, plenty of cod and plenty of cheese to gratinate and delight.
How to make spiritual cod
Ingredients
. White or sweet onions, 2 pc Extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons Salt, 1 teaspoon Desalted cod, 300 g Medium potato, 1 pc (or straw potatoes, 150 g) Fresh parsley, 1 tablespoon Mild olive oil for frying, abundant Parmesan cheese or cured smoked Idiazabal type cheese, 20 g Salt and black pepper, c/sFor the béchamel
Butter, 50 g Flour, 50 g Whole milk, 500 ml Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Step 1
Peel and chop the onion into julienne strips as thin as possible. Place in a cocotte, a pot or a deep frying pan and poach until caramelized with oil and salt, covered to make it easier, stirring occasionally. It will be good if it sticks but only slightly.
Step 2
Meanwhile prepare the béchamel sauce by cooking the flour in the melted butter over low heat, so that the flour cooks and changes flavor but without becoming toasted. Then add the hot milk and, stirring constantly, wait until it thickens and takes body, over medium heat. Add salt and black pepper and set aside with plastic film covering the surface to prevent a crust from forming.
Step 3
Cut the potatoes into very thin sticks and fry them like a potato straw in very hot oil. We can also buy them ready-made. When we see that they are golden brown, remove them from the oil to an absorbent paper to lose the excess fat.
Step 4
With the onion already caramelized we will put it in a frying pan suitable for the oven, we will raise the heat and add the cod previously desalted and well strained. It will start to release water that we don’t want, that’s why we put it on high heat, stirring non-stop. So that the cod is not too much we can strain it all when we see that the cod is done.
Step 5
Then add the fried straw potatoes and some chopped parsley and stir well until you see that it is all an amalgam together.
Step 6
Turn off the heat and preheat the oven to 220°C with the grill function on. Cover the cod with the béchamel sauce that we have already prepared and grate the cheese on top. Bake until golden brown and enjoy.
