Pastéis de Bacalhau
Portuguese Salt Cod Fritters
The fritter on every Portuguese café counter: salt cod and potato, shaped between two spoons and fried dark gold. People eat them warm or cold, standing up, with a coffee in the morning or a beer later on. At home they make a meal with tomato rice. Watch the texture and the moisture: rub the cod into fine threads, keep the potato dry, and add only enough egg to hold it together. Start a day ahead, because the cod needs soaking.
The same fritter goes by two names. In Lisbon and the south it is a pastel de bacalhau; in Porto and the north it is usually a bolinho. The mixture is potato, salt cod, egg, parsley and onion, sometimes with a little nutmeg, shaped between two spoons.
In recent years shops in central Lisbon and Porto have sold a version with a core of melted Serra da Estrela cheese. It is popular with visitors and is a modern invention; the fritter described here is the older, plain one.
Ingredients
For the fritters
- 300 g dried salt cod, thick pieces
- 400 g floury potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward), whole and unpeeled
- 1 small onion (about 80 g), chopped as finely as you can
- 10 g flat-leaf parsley (3 tbsp when finely chopped)
- 2 large eggs, plus 1 more if needed
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 litre sunflower or vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Method
- Soak the cod Put the cod in a large bowl, skin side up, cover with plenty of cold water and keep it in the fridge for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water three or four times. A flake from the thickest part should taste pleasantly seasoned, not harshly salty.
- Poach the cod Put the cod in a saucepan, cover with fresh cold water and bring just to a simmer. Cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until it flakes easily. Lift it out and keep the water.
- Cook the potatoes Boil the potatoes in their skins in the cod water for 25 to 30 minutes, until a knife slides in without resistance. Drain and leave to steam dry for 5 minutes.
- Shred the cod While the fish is still warm, remove the skin and every bone. Put the flesh in a clean tea towel, fold it over and rub it firmly against the worktop for about a minute, until it breaks down into fine, fluffy threads.
- Make the mixture Peel the potatoes while hot and push them through a ricer, or mash thoroughly by hand. Do not use a food processor, which turns them to glue. Mix in the cod, onion, parsley, pepper and nutmeg. Beat in the eggs one at a time. The mixture should be stiff enough for a spoon to stand up in it and soft enough to shape; add the third egg only if it is crumbly. Taste, and add salt only if it needs it. Leave to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- Shape Take a heaped tablespoon of mixture and pass it between two tablespoons, turning it each time, until you have a smooth three-sided oval about 6 cm long. Set on a tray. Repeat.
- Fry Heat the oil to 180°C in a deep pan, no more than a third full. Fry five or six at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, turning them, until deep golden brown all over. Drain on kitchen paper. Let the oil return to 180°C before the next batch.
Food safety
Deep-frying: never fill the pan more than a third full, keep the handle turned in, and do not leave hot oil unattended. Have the lid within reach.
Dry potato is the key to a fritter that holds its shape. Boiling them in their skins keeps the water out.
The tea towel trick gives the fine, fluffy texture of a café pastel. Flaking by hand leaves lumps.
If the first fritter breaks up in the oil, the mixture is too wet or the oil too cool. Check the temperature before you add anything.
Shaped fritters freeze well on a tray. Fry from frozen at 170°C for 5 to 6 minutes.