Good Friday - Salt Cod with Potatoes (BACALHAU)

Question of the week: 

What's your favorite way to eat your Easter egg?

A: Scrambled with potato wafles!

As Vera's parents mine also hide the chocolate Easter eggs (those ones very very tiny!) everywhere in the house! It was always an amazing hunting for me and my young brother. Fun, fun, fun!

(My grandma - cooking some delicious recipes - and I, giving some mini chocolate eggs to my family members - I was 10 years old or so on that time!)

Hello Everyone!

This 'Good Friday'/'Holy Friday' I will teach you all a very easy (and taste!) fish dish - as the catholic traditions said that we are not allow to eat any type of meat but fish. I was born catholic but I'm not a religious type of person but as me and my husband are expecting some friends today I decided to make a proper traditional dish that most of Brazilians eat on that particular day: BACALHAU is the original name of this fish in Portuguese. There are numerous bacalhau recipe variations, depending on region and tradition. It is said there are more than 365 ways to cook bacalhau, one for every day of the year; others say there are 1001 ways. Bacalhau is often served with potatoes. Green (Vinho Verde) or mature wines (Alentejo Wine, Dão Wine, or Douro Wine) are served alongside.

Some facts about Good Friday:

- Christians remember the day when Jesus was crucified on a cross.

- The Anglo-Saxon name for Good Friday was Long Friday, due to the long fast imposed upon this day.

- Good Friday was not celebrated as the day Christ died until the 4th century A.D.

- The name may be derived from 'God's Friday' in the same way that good-bye is derived from 'God be with ye'. It is 'good' because the barrier of sin was broken.

Do you want to know more about EASTER?!

Salt Cod with Potatoes
(BACALHAU)

Ingredients:
2 big dry fish (in rudely pieces)
3 medium potatoes without skin (cut in slices)
1 onion (cut in slices)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of white wine
1 teaspoon of parsley
1 mug of boiled water
some green olives
How to Prepare:
Wash the fish and withdraw the fins, the skin and the biggest bones. Start to unravelling in quite rudely pieces. Accommodate the fish in a roasting tin smeared with the oil. Cut the potatoes in rudely slices as well and annex to the fish. Add the onion and the olives. Sprinkle the parsley on top.
Spill the remainder of the oil mixed to the wine. Drop off the mug of boiled water on top of everything. Lead to the middle oven for 2 hours or until you see that the potatoes are nicely cooked.

It's done!

If your fish is Dried and Salted Cod:
Some dry fish came very salted (because normally they came from other Countries like Portugal, Brazil...) so you need to 'un-salted' the fish.
How to Prepare:
Put the fish in a bowl submerged in cold water and leave in the fridge for about 24 hours (yes, it will took you awhile). Change the bowl's water 2 or 3 times in this interval. You can use the fish after this process.

ps: If your fish is not salted, probably you have to put a pinch of salt and black pepper when you were preparing the dish otherwise be careful because the salted fish it is REALLY salted. ;)

Hugs,
Lara