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🍃Becas à Mesa
TRADITIONAL PORTUGUESE RECIPES

Creamy baked cod and potatoes

Shredded salt cod and potato baked with a creamy sauce and a browned top.

⏱ Estimated time: 75 minutes🍽 Servings: 5🇵🇹 Portugal
Creamy baked cod and potatoes — Digitally created illustrative image
Digitally created illustrative image

Ingredients

  • 550 g desalted boneless salt cod
  • 700 g potatoes
  • 2 onions
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 60 ml olive oil
  • 500 ml milk
  • 45 g butter
  • 45 g plain flour
  • 200 ml cream
  • Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Step-by-step method

  1. Heat oven to 200°C / 390°F. Briefly poach the desalted cod until it flakes; remove all skin and bones and shred.
  2. Dice the potatoes and roast with olive oil, or parboil and drain, until nearly tender.
  3. Slowly soften sliced onions and chopped garlic in olive oil. Fold in the shredded fish and potatoes.
  4. Make a béchamel: melt butter, stir in flour, then gradually add milk until thickened. Season, then mix in cream.
  5. Combine in a baking dish, cover with sauce and bake 20–25 minutes until golden and thoroughly hot.
✦ Cooking tip

Taste before salting: desalted cod can still be salty.

A home-style version; regional and family variations are common. Check cooking times and food doneness before serving.