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Portuguese · Main course · SAMPLE RECIPE

Bacalhau à Brás · salt cod, potatoes & eggs

Flakes of salt cod, sweet onion, and fine fried potato sticks folded into softly set eggs. Parsley and black olives give this Portuguese favorite a fresh, briny finish.

From The Saucey Life kitchen • Serves 4
PortugueseMain courseCodPotatoEggOnion
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Loose golden mixture of fine potato sticks, white cod flakes, cooked egg, and onion with scattered parsley and unevenly placed black olives
AI-generated serving inspiration for a sample recipe.
PREP15 min
COOK30 min
TOTAL45 min
SERVES4

A NOTE FROM THE KITCHEN

Start with cod that is already desalted.

Buy fully desalted, ready-to-cook salt cod and ready-fried thin potato sticks, often sold as batata palha. The listed time begins with these prepared ingredients. Dry salted cod needs a separate, lengthy refrigerated soaking process; it cannot go straight into this recipe. If the desalted cod is frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator before starting.

Ready to get started? The ingredients and steps are right below.

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Bacalhau à Brás · salt cod, potatoes & eggs

Sample recipe awaiting kitchen testing. Timings are estimates.

The good part

Check off each step as you cook.

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BEHIND THE DISH · Portuguese salt-cod cooking

Bacalhau à Brás · salt cod, potatoes & eggsBeyond the plate.

Fine potatoes, onion, and egg turn flakes of salt cod into a generous skillet meal.

ORIGINS & EVOLUTION

One fish, many preparations.

Bacalhau has a large place in Portuguese cooking, with numerous dishes built around preserved cod. In the à Brás preparation, the fish is broken into flakes and combined with onion, narrow fried potatoes, and eggs. Its character comes from that mixture of textures rather than from a single large piece of fish.

CULTURAL CONTEXT

The finishing touches matter.

Parsley and black olives are familiar companions to the golden mixture. Different kitchens change the proportions of cod, potato, and egg. The eggs bind the components, while the potato strands soften slightly without disappearing into a mash.

AT THE TABLE

Prepared ingredients make a manageable start.

Our recipe begins with fully desalted cod and purchased batata palha. The fish still needs cooking, but its long desalting stage has already been completed. We fold the eggs over gentle heat until fully set, then add the fresh parsley and olives.

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