Pastéis de Bacalhau

As an expat, I'm frequently asked what's a traditional Portuguese dish. My answer is 99% of the times, "Anything that has Bacalhau!". So, to all my friends, here I share one recipe which is dear to my heart. I'm always craving for my Avó's Pastéis!

⏱ Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes ⏱ Time: 30 minutes
⏱ Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes 🍽 Yield: ~20 pastéis

Ingredients

250 g "bacalhau demolhado", i.e., soaked salted dry cod
200 g potatoes
3 eggs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon of parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper
Sunflower oil for frying

Instructions

1️⃣ If starting with dry cod, you need to soak the cod first. Check the notes below.
2️⃣ Start by boiling the potatoes without peeling them in a big pot. When the potatoes are almost done, add the cod. Check with a fork/knife if potato and cod are cooked. Take them out from the water and let them cool slighlty.
3️⃣ Peel the potatoes and, in a big bowl, mash them with a fork/pass-vite/potato masher.
4️⃣ Remove the skin and fishbones from the codes. Grab an old kitchen towel, place the cod, and rub it with one side of the towel. The aim is to undone the code in threads. Add the threaded cod into the bowl.
5️⃣ In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the parsley, and pepper.
6️⃣ Add the eggs and minced garlic into the bowl and fold everything together. Taste and, add salt or pepper if needed.
7️⃣ Let the dough rest 30 min as it will make the shaping easier.
8️⃣ Grab 2 spoons and shape the dough. Place them in baking sheet paper.
9️⃣ In a pan, heat the oil up. Fry the pastéis until they are golden brown. Remove them using a skimmer and place them on top of kitchen paper to absorb the oil.
🔟 Serve with some salad and tomato rice (get recipe here ).

Bom Apetite!

Notes

1️⃣ To soak the cod, grab a container big enough where you can fit the cod and water. Keep changing the water until the water is not salty. It might take 2 or 3 days. Start in the evening or morning, that way makes water change easier.
2️⃣ If the dough is too moist, you can add instant mashed potato.
3️⃣ You can add a shot of vinho do Porto and nutmeg to the dough.