Bacalhau à Brás – Braised Cod Dish
This bacalhau dish is creamy and delicious. Traditionally made with salted shredded cod and scrambled eggs, this version is made with banana blossom and tofu. The many varieties of bacalhau dishes are said to have originated from the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. The Portuguese often say there are 365 ways to make bacalhau. Here is one of them!
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
- 6-7 medium sized potatoes
- 5 cups vegetable oil (or flavourless frying oil of choice)
- 1 can banana blossom (jack fruit can be used in replacement but can make the dish look darker in colour)
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup crushed seaweed / nori
- 1 small onion
"Egg"Mixture
- 1 package soft tofu (about 300g)
- 1⅓ cup original unsweetened non dairy milk (I prefer almond)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon black salt (Kala Namak)
Garnish
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 1 handful pitted black olives
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pot. Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut into matchstick pieces. Fry in the oil until crispy and then drain them. Place the matchstick fries in a bowl lined with paper towels to soak excess oil and set the fries aside.
- Strain the can of banana blossoms and rinse well. Remove hard pieces and shred with your hands the remaining banana blossoms into small pieces to resemble shredded fish. Place in a bowl and mix in the 2 tablespoons olive oil and seaweed/nori. Set aside.
- Now it’s time to make the egg mixture. Combine all the egg mixture ingredients in a food processor. Set aside.
- In a large frying pan add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and onion. Fry until translucent. Add the egg mixture and let simmer for 5 minutes while stirring often to avoid sticking. Next add the banana blossom and let simmer for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the fries and turn off the heat. Combine well.
- Transfer the Bacalhau à Brás to an appropriate sized serving dish and garnish with parsley and black olives.
Notes
- As a time saver you can buy frozen match stick fries instead of cutting the potatoes yourself.
Would highly recommend. Very good and easy to prepare.