Salt Cod and Potato Casserole (Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo)
Bacalhau à zé do pipo is a traditional Portuguese cod dish. It can be confused with various other Portuguese dried/salted codfish recipes.
Ingredients
Mashed potatoes
- 500 g (18 oz / 1.1 lbs) white or golden potatoes
- Milk (optional)
- Black pepper (optional)
- Lemon juice (optional)
- Eggs (optional)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) black olives
- Salt
Assembly
- 400 g (14 oz / 0.9 lb) salted dried cod
- Milk
- Salt
- White pepper
- 200 g (7 oz / ½ lb) of onions
- 5 g minced garlic
- Olive oil
- Mayonnaise
Method
- Roast the potatoes in the oven until tender. Cool slightly.
- Mash the potatoes, mixing in the milk, pepper, lemon juice, and eggs, if using.
- Mix in the olives. Season with salt to taste.
- Prepare the cod by leaving it for 24 hours in water, changing the water once or twice.
- After the 24 hour period is up, put the cod in a pot with milk.
- Boil the cod until slightly cooked, then season with salt and pepper. The milk will make the fish soft.
- Slice the onions into rings, and fry in pan with garlic and lots of olive oil until slightly browned.
- Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
- Place the cod in the center of a casserole or baking dish.
- Surround the fish with 500 g of the mashed potatoes, then top it with the fried onion.
- Cover the onion with a thick layer of mayonnaise, and sprinkle bread crumbs all over.
- Bake until toasted on top.
- Serve with a green wine from the north of Portugal.