Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Salt Cod (Bacalao) with Potatoes over Rice

By SteamyKitchen / 14 comments »

Bacalao, pronounced [bah-kah-LAH-oh] is Portuguese dried, salted cod fish. Before refrigeration, fish was dried and preserved in salt to keep in the cellar. There are hundreds of variations of bacalao recipes, but my favorite has always been Bacalao con Patatas (bacalao with potatoes) – however I don’t make it much at home because traditional recipes require too many steps and forethought for my bad habits (impatience and spontaneity).

After spying a bag of bacalao at my local market, I decided to create a recipe that that would cut out a major tedious step. Unfortunately, I couldn’t nix the “forethought” part – as bacalao needs to be soaked overnight in water to get rid of some of its salt. It’s a step that can’t be skipped (boo) and there really isn’t a good shortcut.

The “major tedious step” I’m talking about is boiling the potatoes first before adding it to the dish. Okay, so I’m being dramatic, but bringing a large pot of water to boil (and of course, staring at the darn thing waiting for the first bubbles) and then cooking the potatoes until tender is crazy boring and requires another pot on the stove.

Instead, dice the potatoes into 1/2″ dice, briefly brown them in the saute pan along with the rest of the vegetables. Then add the bacalao, a cup of water, cover and let ‘em all simmer quietly and harmoniously for 15 minutes, just enough time to cook the potatoes through. 

Serve over pasta, rice, quinoa….or enjoy with a loaf of bread.

Salt Cod (Bacalao) with Potatoes over Rice  

Step 1: soak the bacalao overnight in cool water. This is a step you cannot skip….the fish will be way to salty.  

Salt Cod (Bacalao) with Potatoes over Rice

The fresh ingredients – bell pepper, garlic, onion, tomatoes, salt cod (bacalao), celery and potatoes. All the veg are diced small – quicker cooking! 

First, brown the potatoes in the saute pan.

Then saute the aromatics – garlic, onion, bell pepper, celery.

and add the rest of the ingredients in:

Including the de-salted (and drained) bacalao. 

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve over rice, pasta, quinoa…or enjoy with a loaf of bread.

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Salt Cod (Bacalao) with Potatoes over Rice Recipe

Servings: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes + overnight soaking Cook Time: 20 minutes
bacalao-potatoes-rice-recipe-6509.jpg

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice1 bell pepper, diced1/2 onion, diced1 stalk celery, diced2 cloves garlic, minced2 tomatoes, diced1 tablespoon tomato paste1 cup water
2 cups rice grains + water to cook
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1 pound salt cod (bacalao), soaked overnight (see note below)

Directions:

1. The night before, cover the bacalao with cool water and refrigerate.

2. Drain the bacalao, rinse with fresh water. Cut into 1" pieces.

3. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat with the olive oil. When hot, add the potatoes and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 2 minutes. Add in the bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, water and stir. Bring to a simmer and add in the bacalao. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Stir in the parsley.

4. In the meantime, cook the rice according to package instructions. Serve the stew over rice.

 

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Categories: Gluten Free Adaptable, Rice/Noodles, Seafood/Meats, Spanish Recipes
Ingredients: , , , , , , , , ,

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14 Responses to “Salt Cod (Bacalao) with Potatoes over Rice”

  1. Reply
    Bev Weidner — 1/17/12 @ 11:45 am

    I’ve always been so curious about this….SALT COD character. I feel better now.

  2. Reply
    Deanna — 1/17/12 @ 2:05 pm

    Yum! I love salt cod. We used to make bacalao fritters when I worked in catering. I loved them. I will have to try this.

  3. Reply
    Laurie @SimplyScratch — 1/17/12 @ 3:22 pm

    Ohhh I could totally get down with this!

  4. Reply
    Ana_IloveTdP — 1/17/12 @ 7:46 pm

    Hola!

    I always thought the country of origin of bacalao (cured with salt) was Spain. Maybe because I was raised in Spain is the reason why cured bacalao sounds very familiar to me ;)

    And, hoping you don’t see my comment as a pain (if so, sooorry!!), I would say that bacalao is a spanish word (and bacalhau would be in portuguese word for cod).

    Last thing, I promise, I’d like to say my fave portuguese dish with bacalao is bacalhau à Braz :D I love it!!

  5. Reply
    wok with ray — 1/17/12 @ 11:08 pm

    Looks fresh and delicious!

  6. Reply
    Lindsay — 1/18/12 @ 9:27 am

    Remember Riffs truck from FBF? They make these incredible cod fritters. In.Credible.

    • SteamyKitchen replied: — January 18th, 2012 @ 1:41 pm

      oooh yes!! to die for. hey see ya in a few weeks in Orlando!

  7. Reply
    Lauren — 1/18/12 @ 4:25 pm

    I’m loving everything about this.

  8. Reply
    Miri Leigh — 1/19/12 @ 5:44 pm

    This looks delicious. Love the dash of color!

  9. Reply
    Pandalicious — 1/23/12 @ 11:59 am

    wowza, that looks amazing!! i love anything over potatoes and rice!

  10. Reply
    Adrian — 1/24/12 @ 10:52 am

    Hi,

    My name is Adrian Buzoianu.
    I’m from Bucharest, Romania. I am 43 years old and I have a website : http://www.tourism-and-food.com
    With this site I try to promote the Romanian Cuisine and the Romanian culture.
    My website sell professional recipes.
    Details about me you can find here : http://www.tourism-and-food.com/let-me-introduce-myself

  11. Reply
    CeramicCookwareGuide — 1/28/12 @ 4:27 am

    hii Thanks for the recipes. This recipe is suitable for Asian people like me :) , this is as other alternative combination for rice. By the way to get healthy food and no vitamins are lost during cooking recipes above, we must be considered cooking utensil that is used. Please visit my web to find the details :http:///www.ceramiccookwareguide.com

  12. Reply
    love cooking — 2/8/12 @ 10:55 am

    I love sauté dishes serve with rice. This is lovely. I think I might try to use a smoked fish or fresh fish fillets to cut the works of soaking the fish over night. I think it will be very nice too. Just need some seasoning. :)

  13. Reply
    Jessica@LovesAvocado — 2/11/12 @ 7:19 pm

    I love bacalao! I love it roasted in the oven with potatoes and onions and boiled eggs and then pouring some olive oil and vinegar on it when ready to eat. I will have to try this recipe too. Thanks for sharing :)

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