Cookingaround : Cod In Cream Sauce

Cod In Cream Sauce - Bacalhau Com Natas

This recipe brings out my memories of my Mom making this dish in the Kitchen. I can remember, being so small and young seeing that awful looking salted fish on the table all cutted up and soaking in a bowl, in water.

Soon it was the next day and the aroma of the olive oil, the potatoes coming through with the fish that for some reason has a pleasant aroma, not a fishy one. It still makes me think of home when I make it and all my good thoughts come through of my Portuguese Home of the past with my parents.

Years back in the Azorian Islands the poor fisherman did not have any refrigerator to store the freshly caught fish. Not even an icebox did the have. They would preserve their fish by drying them in the sun and then salting them for future use.

Now, this Cod or Bacalhau a salted fish came all the way from Eastern America where they are a lot of cod. So off went the fishermen all across the Atlantic to the other side to get the caught. As they caught them, then they would clean them and preserve them in salt for the trip back home.

Now this Bacalhau at that time was considered a poor Mans dish and the elite would not touch it for there was fresher fish to have a proper meal. As time went by, this fish has grown to be one of the finest dishes money can buy, from a five-star Restaurant to the modest family home. Over time, this fish has grown not only in popularity but also in price, from one of the cheapest fish to one of the most expensive.

So here it is, a real old fashion recipe and is guaranteed to be a Portuguese tradition right in your own home.

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Recipe:

1 lbs. - Bacalhau ( Codfish) salted or not salted.

1 1/2 Lbs. - Potatoes
4 Sm. - Onions
1 to 2 Cloves - Garlic
4 to 6 - Whole peppercorns
1/4 Tsp. - Black pepper
1/4 Cup - Olive oil

Garnish
3 - Hard-boiled eggs
2 Tbsp. - Dry or fresh parsley
1/4 Cup - Black olives

For more information, please see video below.

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Bacalhau usually come in a heavily salted, so then you will have to prepare the cod before you can use it.

Cover the cod with cold water overnight and change the water about three times, drain off the water completely each time.

The cod has been unsalted and I did trim all fins on it. Also, I do not like to remove the fish skin for when it is cooked it then tends to fall apart. The skin also helps keep the fish from overcooking. The potatoes should be cooked only until a fork can easily go into it.

This fish does not require too much cooking time and if you cook it too long then the cod will become tasteless and hard.

When making the roux please keep the heat no higher than medium because there is a chance of burning it.

Also it is very important to keep on stirring throughout the whole cooking in this stage, in order to get it as smooth as possible.

Again, keeping the heat on medium and do not stop stirring while you are adding the egg yolk. After all, we want a nice and creamy sauce, not scrabble eggs.