Bacalhau à Brás

Ingredients

Cod

• 600 gsalt cod (bacalhau), thick loin
• 1bay leaf

Potatoes

• 800 gwaxy potatoes, cut into matchsticks 3 mm square
• 1 litresunflower oil, for frying

Refogado and eggs

• 3onions, sliced into thin half-moons
• 4garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 100 mlolive oil
• 8eggs, beaten with a good pinch of white pepper
• 1small bunch flat parsley, chopped
• 16small black Portuguese olives
• salt and plenty of black pepper

Directions

1. Desalt the cod for 36–48 hours in cold water in the fridge, changing the water four times. Taste a flake at the last change: it should taste seasoned, not salty.
2. Cover with fresh water, bring just to a simmer with the bay leaf, take it off the heat at once and leave 10 minutes. Drain, and while it is still warm pull the flesh into fine threads with your fingers, discarding skin and bone. It must be shredded, never chopped.
3. Fry the potato matchsticks in batches at 170°C (350°F) for 3–4 minutes, until pale gold and crisp. Drain on paper, salt lightly. They can be fried an hour ahead.
4. In a wide pan, cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil over low-medium heat for 20 minutes, until soft, sweet and barely coloured. This is a proper refogado, not a quick fry, and it is the flavour base of the dish.
5. Add the shredded cod, raise the heat and toss for 3–4 minutes so it drinks up the oil.
6. Pull the pan off direct heat. Add the potatoes, toss twice, then pour in the beaten eggs and stir constantly with a wooden spoon over the lowest possible heat.
7. Stop while the eggs are still visibly wet and creamy, after 60–90 seconds. Brás is a soft, glossy scramble, not an omelette, and the residual heat finishes it on the plate.
8. Grind over a lot of black pepper, scatter the parsley and olives and serve immediately, straight from the pan.

Technique

• The three ways to ruin it are all about timing: cod that is still salty, potatoes that have gone soft, and eggs cooked past creamy. Fry the potatoes late and pull the pan early.
• Bagged batata palha is what most Portuguese homes use and there is no shame in it. Add it at the last second so it stays crisp.
• The olives are not decoration. Their brine cuts the richness of eight eggs, and Portuguese cooks eat one with each forkful.
• The dish is named for a tavern keeper in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto in the 19th century, one of a family of tavern inventions along with bacalhau à Gomes de Sá and à Zé do Pipo.

Substitutions

• No salt cod: 600 g fresh cod, lightly poached and flaked, plus an extra teaspoon of salt. It is milder and the Portuguese would call it something else, but it works.
• No time to desalt: buy pre-soaked frozen bacalhau, which is sold demolhado and needs only thawing.

Variations

• Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá, baked with sliced potato, onion and hard-boiled egg.
• Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo, gratinated under mashed potato and mayonnaise.
• A version finished with a little cream, common in restaurants and disliked by purists.

History

Named for a tavern keeper called Brás in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto, where the dish is said to have been created in the nineteenth century.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bacalhau à Brás?

Bacalhau à Brás is a main from Portugal: shredded salt cod scrambled with eggs, onions, matchstick potatoes. Named for a tavern keeper called Brás in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto, where the dish is said to have been created in the nineteenth century.

How long does Bacalhau à Brás take to make?

Bacalhau à Brás takes 30 min plus 36 hr desalting of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Bacalhau à Brás?

Yes, within limits. No salt cod: 600 g fresh cod, lightly poached and flaked, plus an extra teaspoon of salt. It is milder and the Portuguese would call it something else, but it works. No time to desalt: buy pre-soaked frozen bacalhau, which is sold demolhado and needs only thawing.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bacalhau à Brás?

Desalt the cod for 36–48 hours in cold water in the fridge, changing the water four times. Taste a flake at the last change: it should taste seasoned, not salty.