Bacalhau salted codfish

Bacalhau, codfish or more commonly here salted codfish, is very much part of the Portuguese cuisine and tradition.  Cod is fished in the seas off Norway and Iceland.  The codfish is dried and salted to preserve it. Soaking it for several hours or overnight removes the salt.  Onced cooked you do not get any of the salty taste and it tastes delicious.

You can have it served grilled, baked, cooked with potatoes or with cream.  There are many recipes for bacalhau.  At Christmas it is a tradition to have bacalhau on the menu and every home has it on Christmas.

Some people may find it an acquired taste. You can find bacalhau cooked as the pastel de bacalhau (codfish fritter)  in any snack bar or café.  Bacalhau com natas, cod with cream baked in the oven, is a popular dish.  Below are a few of the most common dishes.

One of the many bacalhau dishes above, baked and served with potatoes (batata a muro).

Bacalhau com natas
Codfish with potatoes in a cream sauce and baked which gives it a crust.

Pataniscas de bacalhau
These are codfish fritters. Cod fried with a batter.

Pastel de Bacalhau
Cooked cod mixed with mash potatoes and formed into croquettes and fried.  Found in any cafe or bar it is much like the fishcake.

The popular pastel de bacalhau, left.  You can eat it as a snack or as a light meal with a salad or other accompaniments or side dishes.