bacalhau – PREPARATION

bacalhau (salted cod-fish) is the staple dish of Portugal. It is said that there are a thousand ways of cooking it.

The salt has to be leached out before cooking, normally by soaking in water overnight, with the water changed several times. (The water has to be changed because the brine, being dense, sits at the bottom and slows down the process.) Some cooks even insist that the bacalhau should be soaked for several days in the refrigerator.

A very old recipe book gives the following technique. Place an inverted bowl in a large saucepan of water place and put the bacalhau on top of the inverted bowl – submerged, but close to the top of the water. (In this way, the more saline water sinks naturally to the bottom.)