Bacalao con papas, a dish originating in Spain, is a traditional and flavorful meal that combines the robust taste of salt cod with tender potatoes, creating a harmonious blend of flavors and textures. This dish is commonly served as a main course during special occasions and family gatherings, offering a comforting and authentic representation of Spanish culinary heritage. Bacalao con papas is a testament to the versatility of salt cod and its ability to transform a simple combination of ingredients into a delectable dish that is both hearty and soul-satisfying. Discovering the best recipe for bacalao con papas is a journey that can lead to a culinary masterpiece, one that is rich in tradition and brimming with savory flavors.
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BACALAO CON PAPAS (SALT COD WITH POTATOES)
In the 1980s, my family moved from Peru to a predominately Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. During the first ten years in the U.S., my mom and dad could not make many of the Peruvian dishes we loved because the ingredients simply were not available. Being in a foreign place, feeling alone and unable to access our comfort foods created a culinary void for our family. This uniquely immigrant dilemma improved when we began to understand and embrace the cultures around us, and incorporated these new ingredients in our traditional Peruvian recipes to create fusions. In the same way I played with and exchanged ideas with my new Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican friends, my mom swapped recipes with neighboring families. Bacalao (salt cod) was one of the memorable Caribbean dishes my mom began to cook at home. My version for bacalao con papas is based on memories from my life back in Brooklyn. It combines ingredients found in most bacalao recipes of the Caribbean, such as potatoes, tomatoes, onion and olives, with ingredients I like to use in my stews -- Mexican oregano, tomato paste, piquillo peppers and wine. This recipe is easy to make and yields tender flakes of cod with creamy potatoes coated in a sweet-tangy tomato and onion sauce. Serve it over rice or with thick slices of crusty grilled bread seasoned with salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
Provided by Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 2h50m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- Rinse 1/2 pound salt cod under cold water to remove the outer layer of salt. Tear it into large strips (about 1- to 2-inches wide), place in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 1 hour, drain the water and tear the cod into large bite-size pieces. Cover again with cold water and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain, cover again with cold water and soak for the final 30 minutes. Drain and squeeze out all the excess water from the cod with your hands; the cod should be very dry before using.
- Heat the oil and butter to a medium pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the bay leaf and oregano and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the onion, garlic, black pepper and half of the parsley. Stir to evenly combine and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat all the ingredients. Continue to stir until the tomato paste begins to caramelize and turn a dark red, almost brown color, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Next, add the salt cod, stirring to coat the cod completely in the sauce and cook until the cod absorbs most of the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes. Finally, add the potatoes, piquillo peppers, olives and tomato sauce. Stir together, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer the sauce until the potatoes are fork tender but still hold their shape, about 20 minutes.
- To serve, stir in the lemon juice and taste for salt -- typically all the salt needed in this recipe comes from the salt cod. Plate with cooked white rice or grilled bread and garnish with the remaining chopped parsley.
BACALHAU PORTUGUESE AO FORNO (SALT COD WITH TOMATOES AND OLIVES)
Portuguese recipe for baked cod with potatoes, tomatoes and lots of olive oil. You need to soak the cod in water overnight to remove the salt. Serve hot.
Provided by Vólola
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Portuguese
Time P1DT1h58m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Soak cod in a large bowl of water in the refrigerator for 24 hours, changing soaking water 4 times to remove excess salt.
- Drain water off cod; add lemon juice and salt. Let marinate in the refrigerator, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Arrange layers of cod, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes in a large baking dish. Place bay leaves on top. Drizzle olive oil over baking dish and season with salt.
- Bake in the preheated oven until potatoes are tender and cod flakes easily with a fork, about 30 minutes. Add olives and parsley and continue baking until heated through, about 3 minutes more.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 433.2 calories, Carbohydrate 16 g, Cholesterol 172.5 mg, Fat 6.8 g, Fiber 2.7 g, Protein 73.4 g, SaturatedFat 1.1 g, Sodium 8042.1 mg, Sugar 3.5 g
MARIA'S PORTUGUESE BACALAU
This is a traditional Portuguese dish that brings back memories of mom. It is not only tasty but it is always a hit at parties. Plan ahead, because the salted cod needs to soak for 24 hours.
Provided by BINGADING
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Portuguese
Time P1DT2h
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Soak the dried salted cod in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water several times.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the soaked cod, and boil for about 5 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove cod from water, and save water for cooking potatoes. Remove skin and bones from the cod, and flake the meat into pieces using a fork. Set fish aside in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon of parsley, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Pour over the fish, and toss lightly to coat.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the potatoes into the fish water, and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain under cool water, peel and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
- While the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, and saute until golden and caramelized. Stir one clove of garlic into the onions. Set aside.
- Layer half of the potato slices in the bottom of a greased 8x11 inch baking dish. Cover with half of the cod, then half of the onions. Repeat layers, ending with onion.
- Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Before serving, garnish the top with green and black olives, and hard-cooked eggs. Sprinkle with remaining parsley.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 701 calories, Carbohydrate 25.2 g, Cholesterol 277 mg, Fat 31.3 g, Fiber 2.5 g, Protein 77.1 g, SaturatedFat 7 g, Sodium 8223.1 mg, Sugar 1.5 g
CUBAN CODFISH AND POTATOE FRICASEE, BACALAO CON PAPAS
I first tasted this codfish fricasee when I first married. My mother-in-law who is a fantastic cook introduced me to this incredible codfish fricasee. It is delicious and made with potatoes and a sauce to die for. The prep time is long but not hard. You have to de-salt the fish a day before about 8/10 hours. However once that step is done the dish is fast and easy. I made this evening along with Codfish fritters and fried Stuffed plantain cups with shrimp. My family love this dish. I hope you will too. Enjoy
Provided by Juliann Esquivel @Juliann
Categories Fish
Number Of Ingredients 21
Steps:
- The day before soak your de-boned cod fillets changing the cold water every two hours throught out the day. Before going to bed drain the water again add cold water and leave soaking overnight. The next day drain the water again add more cold water and bring to a boil, once boil starts lower the flame and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove fish from the pot and add the potatoes boil until just tender. Remove potatoes from the pot and let cool. While potatoes are cooking break fish up into pieces. Do not shredd leave in small pieces. Set aside in a dish. When ptatoes are done let cool and peel as if you were making potatoe salad. When potatoes are peeled slice potatoes in small slices. Set potatoes in another dish and proceed to make the fricasee sauce.
- In a large skillet heat olive oil add the diced veggies onion, green pepper, fresh smashed garlic, parsley and cilantro. Saute until the onion is transparent and limp. Now add and deglaze with the wine. Next add the tomato sauce, vinegar, cocktail sauce, olives and capers. Continue to saute for two minutes. Now add all the seasonings. oregano, bay leaf, cumin powder, garlic powder, Goya sazon packet, black pepper and the fish broth. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Taste the sauce to make sure if it has enough seasonings. Do not add any salt as the cod has some salt in it. Somtimes I like to add just a touch of cayanne pepper but that is optional. Let sauce simmer for about 5 more minutes.
- Now take the cod and mix into the sauce real well being careful not to break it up. Try to leave the pieces whole. Mix it into the sauce gently. After mixing in the fish add the potatoes and mix in again very gently carfull not to break up the potatoes. Throughly mix everything with the sauce. Now taste to see if it has enough salt. You may need to add just a touch of Sea salt but just a touch. You cod should still have enough salt. When making the taste test taste a piece of the fish with the sauce.
- Serve alongside or on top of white Cuban rice. In my picture above I served on top of white rice with cod fritters and stuffed plantain cups with shrimp on the side. Hope you enjoy these recipes I have posted all three for you to see. LOL
PORTUGUESE BACALHAU à BRáS (SALT COD AND POTATOES)
This is a very unique Portuguese Salt Cod fish dish. Very popular in the Azores Islands of Portugal. Cooked for many occasions and well enjoyed. To save yourself time you can prepare the potatoes ahead of time and let them soak in water untill you are ready to start your dish. Also please note, the Cod must be soaked in water overnight. However if you miss this step you can boil the Cod in a pot of water and keep changing the water a few times. This is to remove the salt from the Cod. Use Boneless Salted Cod (not frozen). You can find this in many Super Markets. I have mentioned below that you can also use a Food Processor and shred the potatoes and onion for ease. You can also cheat by using a family size bag of shoestring french fries ;) Prep time does not include soaking of the Cod.
Provided by daisygrl64
Categories High Protein
Time 1h15m
Yield 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Note: Soak Cod fish in water overnight.
- Next day change water and place Cod in a pot with enough water to cover it. Boil for about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool. Once Cod has cooled, flake it.
- Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to non stick pan and fry potatoes in batches each time using another tbsp of olive oil if necessary.
- Place paper towel on the bottom of a glass dish safe for the oven and keep fries warm in the oven.
- Once you are done with the potatoes add 1 tbsp of olive oil to pan and add the bay leaf. Simmer for about 2-3 minutes. remove bay leafs from pan (discard).
- add garlic, onions (pepper flakes if using) to the pan and saute until onions begin to soften.
- add the parsley and let saute a bit.
- add flaked Cod and keep tossing until Cod gets warm.
- add the eggs, keep stirring so not to let the eggs stick to pan. this mixture will start to look like scrambled eggs.
- Once you are done with your Cod and eggs mixture.
- Combine fries with Cod mixture.
- add olives if using.
- taste, add salt and black pepper if needed.
- when serving squeeze lemon juice from a slice of lemon ontop.
- add dash of tabsco sauce if using.
- Enjoy.
Tips:
- Soak the salt cod properly: Desalting the salt cod is a crucial step to remove the excess salt. Soak the fish in cold water for at least 12 hours, changing the water every 4 hours or so. This will help to rehydrate the fish and remove the saltiness.
- Use good quality ingredients: The quality of your ingredients will greatly affect the taste of your dish. Use fresh, flavorful potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. If you can, use homemade fish stock instead of store-bought.
- Don't overcook the fish: Salt cod is a delicate fish and can easily be overcooked. Be careful not to simmer it for too long, or it will become tough and dry.
- Season to taste: Salt cod can be a bit bland on its own, so be sure to season it well. Add salt, pepper, and other spices to your liking.
- Serve immediately: Bacalao con papas is best served immediately after it is cooked. The potatoes will start to absorb the sauce and become mushy if you let it sit for too long.
Conclusion:
Bacalao con papas is a simple but delicious dish that is perfect for a weeknight meal. It is easy to make and can be tailored to your own taste. Whether you like your fish spicy or mild, this dish is sure to please everyone at the table. So next time you're looking for a quick and easy meal, give bacalao con papas a try!
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