Bacalhau à Brás features soaked and shredded cod, shoestring potatoes, and eggs.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 400 g salted cod (soaked)
- 500 g potatoes
- 150 ml olive oil
- 3 onions
- 1 garlic clove
- 6 eggs
- Parsley, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Black olives, to taste
Utensils: knife, spoon, pot, deep fryer, and a bowl for whisking the eggs.
How to make Bacalhau à Brás
This dish starts with cod that's already been soaked. If you haven't got that far, see how to soak cod that's where the texture is decided.
Preparation
- Remove the skin and bones from the soaked cod and shred it.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin shoestrings.
- Slice the garlic and onions into thin rings.
- Chop the parsley.
- Whisk the eggs.
Cooking
- Fry the potatoes until golden. Remove them to paper towels while preparing the sauté.
- Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil until the onion becomes translucent without browning.
- Add the shredded cod and mix well.
- Add the fried potatoes.
- Add the whisked eggs with the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
To serve
- Sprinkle with black olives.
- Serve immediately.
Taste before seasoning. The soaked cod still contains salt, and the required amount varies depending on how long it was soaked.
The mistake that ruins the dish
The eggs. They are the last ingredient to enter and the only one that continues to cook after the dish is taken off the heat.
The second mistake is serving it late. Bacalhau à Brás doesn't wait: the shoestring potatoes soften within minutes.
Shoestring potatoes: homemade or store-bought
We prefer to fry the potatoes at home, freshly cut into shoestrings. Store-bought ones work too, and some people use them every time.
What to serve with Bacalhau à Brás
Black olives on top and chopped parsley, both already in the recipe. It doesn't need a side dish—the dish itself provides potato, fish, and egg.
To accompany it, a very chilled white wine.
Where the name comes from
The recipe is attributed to a cook named Brás, from Bairro Alto in Lisbon. It reached us as a way to use up leftovers and is today one of the most popular ways to cook cod in Portugal.
Save this recipe in your Culinari and add it to your family recipes — start here.