This is a traditional Portuguese dish that brings back memories of mom. It is not only tasty but it is always a hit at parties. Plan ahead, because the salted cod needs to soak for 24 hours.
OH MY GOSH! This was unreal! I followed the recipe exactly except I omitted the chopped eggs and olives for garnish. The real name for this recipe is actually 'Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá'. I am Portuguese (my entire family was born and raised in Portugal) and when I told my mom I was making this dish she got so excited! She told me she hadn't had it since she lived in Portugual over 42 years ago! This dish was soooo incredible and tasted so much like something that my Portuguese family would make. Thank you so so much for posting this delicious, authentic recipe, BINGADING!
Read MoreI read an article once that made my want to try this dish, and saw salt cod advertised at a local market. Like fish, like salt, like potatoes, love olives...but didn't care for this dish! The fish was chewy. The potatoes came out crunchy; as another reviewer noted, slice before boiling. But I won't be making it again.
Read More OH MY GOSH! This was unreal! I followed the recipe exactly except I omitted the chopped eggs and olives for garnish. The real name for this recipe is actually 'Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá'. I am Portuguese (my entire family was born and raised in Portugal) and when I told my mom I was making this dish she got so excited! She told me she hadn't had it since she lived in Portugual over 42 years ago! This dish was soooo incredible and tasted so much like something that my Portuguese family would make. Thank you so so much for posting this delicious, authentic recipe, BINGADING!
Out of all the recipes I've seen on the internet, yours was the only true one that had the black olives which is always used in this dish in the Azores. Thank you.
I'm so glad I tried this recipe. By far, one of the best I've found on allrecipes.com. I had to make a few changes based on what I had in the house. I used fresh cod and boiled it in heavily salted water, and added some salt to the parsley/olive oil mixture. I also used red potatoes since that's what I had on hand. I followed the rest of the recipe as-is. The flavors were absolutely outstanding. I love that it's so healthy, too. I *never* go back for seconds on dinner, but I did with this one. My husband said he could survive on this dish alone. It's honestly so good, I almost felt guilty taking credit for it! Thanks for contributing this one.
I made this for my parents who are both from Lisbon, Portugal...and boy did I impress them! Thank you so much! As another reviewer mentioned, my parents said this dish is traditionally called Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá. This is a keeper and I'll be making years to come, especially for family gatherings. Thank you again!
I made this for my husband's Portuguese family and they all said that it tasted better than any other Bacalau recipe they have ever had. They couldn't believe how good it was! Thank you for an awesome recipe. There wasn't any left after the party! The only things I changed: I used 5 potatoes instead of 4 and double the onions from 2 to 4.
Mmmm tastes like tradition! Personally I find the dried, store bought bacalau tougher/chewier in this dish. Therefore I use (heavily salted) fresh cod instead of dried bacalau. Also, I sliced the potatoes prior to boiling them. The way I see it … slicing raw potatoes is easier than slicing potatoes that are mostly cooked. My father-in-law is from the Azores Islands and he LOVES this dish! Looks like I’ll be making this dish often instead of the in-laws ordering it from the European catering place down the street. This is a keeper!! :-)
Delicious! I used fresh cod instead of salted, and added salt. My wife, she is Portuguese, loved this recipe. I will be making it for her as often as she will like. Thank you for sharing it with us.
This was the best dish I have ever had. I'm Portuguese but don't even know the name for this dish. I've had it before, but this is by far the best and the most delicous. We will definitely be making this over and over, please share more of your delicious Portuguese recipes.
Good job on this recipe. My Italian family really liked it and so did I. I used exact measurements of everything and prepared with only one exception- I soaked the cod in the frig for 4 days changing the water every day. Next time I'll cut down on the olive oil, but everything else do just the same as I did today. Very nice diversion for Friday's fish dinner!
Awesome! Better than my mother-in-laws and she's straight from Portugal and has been making it for 50 years! Next time I will omit the parsley on top though...it was a bit much for us.
Excellent dish. We had leftovers and turned it into a fish chowder that was probably the best I've ever had.
The BEST Bacalhau recipe!! I couldn't find salted cod, so I also used thawed fresh cod fish fillets as did a previous reviewer. It came out just as good as my Brazilian-Portuguese grandmother used to make it. Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
This was my family's first time tasting salt cod. I followed the recipe to the letter and we enjoyed it very much and look forward to having it again. Thanks for your contribution!
Used blue potatoes I found at the farmer's market -- very good! I only managed to soak the fish for about 16 hours before I started cooking, and it was still a little too salty, but still pretty tasty. Also, I didn't particularly like the pitted green olives I found at the grocery store -- get a different kind in the future.
I made this for a farewell dinner for a friend who was moving to Portugal. He writes that he had the same thing in Portugal, but this was better. Interesting, different, and delicious.
Thank you for the recipe. I made this last month and became my husband's lunch for one week with steamed rice. Now he requested it again. Good for me to prepare one week meal for him in advance.
The photo looks like a casserole smothered in cheese but I don't see cheese mentioned in the recipe or reviews. Should I be adding cheese before serving? Edit: Ok, I see where threebyfiver mentions adding cheese. I made the recipe but have not yet put it into the oven - already I'm amazed at the flavor the combination of ingredients creates! I think I will add some cheese and broil it a little before serving. Also, my carmelized onions reduced so much that next time I'll slice 4 instead of 2. Mmmm!
My family and I loved this recipe. I used thawed cod fish boiled in salted water then used that water to cook the potatoes. Have made this numerous times! Wonderful.
Wow, what an interesting combination. I was amazed that something so complex could taste so simple (in a good way). We ended up using cilantro instead of parsley. We LOVED it. Next time we will try less red pepper, less onion, more cheese (we added cheese). This is a GREAT fish dish.
I really should not rate this recipe since I used fresh cod fish and just added salt to it before I boiled it (after reading the other rave reviews I think mine did not turn out as good as it could have been). But...I am giving it 5 stars because my non fish eating husband really liked it. I was amazed. I look forward to trying it with the salted cod.
It was a hit! Served it with jasmine white rice. My husband loved how creamy it came out.
I just have a question for you, I see you have a lot of Portuguese recipes on here. I was wondering if you would be able to help me, My grandmother was Portuguese, she made this side dish (maybe an app) so to say, she made every christmas, being that she grew up on the old country she never wrote anything down. We called them fish balls, I believe they had cod in them but I'm not really sure (I was very young) and my mother didn't write it down either, but she tried to make them once, but it wasn't the same. I was wondering if you would happen to have this recipe or something like it? It would be Greatly appreciated. since I've long for this every christmas. Thanks for the help.
This has got to be one of the - if not the best Bacalau dishes ever! My mother makes this as well and calls it Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá just like some other reviwer put it. LOVE IT! What I also did to change it up slightly was slice some tomatoe in between the layers to add a little more extra flavour and a bay leaf when satueing the onions..that's it. Thanks for putting such a great Portuguese recipe online! Viva!
In response to paige's question: Go to allrecipes.com.br and look up bolinhas de bacalhau. The recipe(s) are in Brasilian Portuguese but can be translated easily with babelfish translator.
I thought the dish was very tasty but mine was a bit dry. I followed the recipe exactly. I would have preferred it less dry. I had not eaten this before so did not know what to expect. However I would cook it again, and possibly have a sauce on the side also.
I made this tonight for 4 ppl I had to use 4 large onions and doubled the wet ingredients cause it didn't lookalike enough, and I was glad I did it made the difference for me. My husband asked me if I cooked this all day,lol. We loved it will definitely make this again.
Wonderful basic recipe of bacalao! I made mine with a mornay sauce, and topped it with cheese and paprika. Added the egg and olives for a finishing touch! Thanks!
I read an article once that made my want to try this dish, and saw salt cod advertised at a local market. Like fish, like salt, like potatoes, love olives...but didn't care for this dish! The fish was chewy. The potatoes came out crunchy; as another reviewer noted, slice before boiling. But I won't be making it again.
This recipe was awesome! I had this dish in Portugal and wanted to recreate it. I actually did it with tuna, because that's what I had in the house. I boiled it in heavily salted water, like the people who used fresh cod, and it still worked out amazing! I also have a strong affection for black olives so I chopped up a can and mixed them with the fish before pouring the oil in. I will definitely be using this recipe more often! Can't wait to try it with the cod.
Thank you for sharing this! I made this to introduce my family to a traditional Portuguese Christmas meal and they loved it! I wasn’t able to get salted cod so I had to add salt when boiling it and after serving. Next time, I’ll add more to both the water and the olive oil mixture. I’m definitely going to make this again.
This is one of my favourite cod dishes to make! Sometimes I only have unsalted cod in the freezer and use that instead of the salted cod, and it comes out nicely. I highly recommend!
I added about 1/4 cup fresh tomato paste sauce made from two seeded and peeled tomatoes, and omitted the olive and boiled egg garnish. Really tasty option for salted cod. Served with asparagus and Portuguese corn bread. Delicious!
I can't say I loved this recipe. It was decent but not a dish that bowled me over. It felt like it was missing something (perhaps tomatoes, which I've heard they add in Brazil?). Probably not something that I would make again.
I sliced the potatoes before boiling so that they would cook through in 20 minutes, then added a simple white sauce to the top, and baked it a little longer than stated in the recipe. Absolutely scrumptious!
I omitted the olives because I am not a fan of olives generally. However, I kept true to the recipe and it came out delicious on my first try.
I liked the recipe, and look forward to finishing it!
It is the first time I have cooked salt cod. After soaking 24 hours, it was not done cooking at the recipe's 20 minutes, not really done at 40 minutes. I would definitely cook it longer than this recipe says.
It was very tasty - and you don't want to add salt! The olives and the cod both have enough residual salt.
I did add a sprinkle of lemon juice and olive oil at the end. It still is quite dry. Tasty but dry.
Things I might add next time, for fun or to try: Capers, a sauce including coconut milk, or a white clam sauce
I made this for my hubby and he is Portuguese and he loves it! Wants me to make it for his mom when she comes over from Portugal!
Really good dish! It was a hit with everyone. Even after soaking and changing the water 5 times in 2 days, it was still a salty treat, though. If I do it again, I may leave the olives out, or cut the amount in half, because I overdid the olives, my error. I also added sliced cherry tomatoes, which looked nice. I served it over Orzo pasta, which helped a lot. Next time I may slice the salt cod into strips after the first soaking. I did this after the 4th soak this time. I just didn't get enough of the salt out. It was very good, though, even with the salt. I would guess that is part of the tradition!
