We challenged five Portuguese chefs to put their own spin on the king of Portuguese cuisine - codfish.
José Avillez, Vitor Sobral, Rui Paula, Vasco Coelho Santos and Hélio Loureiro set out to create a modern interpretation of this traditional ingredient which is already part of Portugal's national identity. Check out the recipes and bon appetite!
Recipe by José Avillez >>
José Avillez | Codfish flakes, "loose crumbs", sous vide egg and explosive olives
Ingredients (for 4 people)
Codfish:
- 4 codfish loins, 120g each
- Orange peel, to taste
- Lemon peel, to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- Garlic, to taste
- Thyme, to taste
- Black peppercorns, to taste
- Olive oil, to taste
«Loose Crumbs»:
- 120g of bread, cut into small cubes
- 350g savoy cabbage cut into small pieces
- 120g green beans, prepped
- 1 clove of garlic
- Codfish cooking broth, to taste
- Olive oil, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Sous vide egg:
- 4 large organic eggs
- Fleur de sel, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
«Explosive» olives:
- 100ml green olive juice (pitted green olives, crushed, strained and squeezed through a cloth)
- 0.2g glucose
- 0.5g xanthan gum
- 30g olive oil marinated with orange, lemon, garlic, thyme
- 500ml low-calcium water (Luso or Vitalis)
- 2.5g de alginate
Method
- To prepare the "exploding" olives, combine the green olive juice, xanthan gum and glucose. Beat with a hand blender and put aside in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Then beat 25% of the water with the alginate. Add the remaining water, mix well, pour into a transparent and deep (preferably glass) container, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Remove the olive mixture and alginate mixture from the fridge 30 minutes before the next stage. After 30 minutes, fill a spoon (such as a Parisian spoon) with the olive mixture, bring it as close to the alginate mixture as you can (it should be 1mm apart) and turn it. Wait 30 seconds for a small ball to form and carefully remove using a slotted spoon. Let it drain and place it in a bowl of water. Drain again carefully and set aside in olive oil.
- Wash the eggs well, scrub them with a brush and cook them in a bain-marie at 63.5°C for 45 minutes. Then place them in ice water for 50 minutes. Dry the eggs well and keep them in the fridge for up to 20 minutes before serving. At that point, remove them from the refrigerator and heat them in a bain-marie at 54°C for 20 minutes. If you prefer, you can replace the sous vide eggs with poached eggs. However, you must prepare them while the codfish is cooking and not right at the beginning.
- Clean the codfish loin. Remove the side spines and the middle spine, but keep the skin. In a small pan, add enough olive oil to cover the codfish until it is two-thirds full and heat until the temperature of the oil reaches approximately 75°C. Place the codfish fillets in the olive oil and add orange peel, lemon peel, crushed garlic, thyme, two bay leaves and black peppercorns. Allow the codfish to cook slowly, without raising the temperature.
- To prepare the poached eggs, heat the water to a boil. Then add a glass of warm water to bring the temperature down to 82°C. On a worktop, spread out a square of cling film. Brush the square with olive oil and place the film on top of a small bowl with the side brushed in olive oil facing up. Crack an egg into the bowl and close the edges of the film to make a small bundle. Tie a knot as close to the egg as possible, taking care to ensure no air is left in the bundle. Stick a skewer in the knot area and place the bundle in the centre. If the pan is large, you can put more than one bundle on each skewer (be careful so the bundles don't touch each other). Place the kebab stick with the bundles on top of the pan of water heated to 82°C. The bundles should be covered with water, but should not touch the bottom of the pan. Let it cook on a low heat for about two and a half minutes. Repeat as many times as necessary in order to poach all the eggs.
- Cook the green beans in boiling water seasoned with salt for 2 to 3 minutes. Then place them immediately in ice water with salt and dry well. Blanch the cabbage in boiling water seasoned with salt for 45 seconds, then cool it in salted ice water and dry well. In a non-stick frying pan, add a drizzle of hot olive oil and fry the cubes of breadcrumbs. Set aside. In another frying pan, add a drizzle of hot olive oil, then a clove of chopped garlic and sauté the kale and green beans. Season with salt, pepper and a little of the codfish cooking broth. Add the bread and stir.
- Loosen the codfish flakes and remove the skin. Add a little of the cooking oil to the codfish. On a serving plate, place the "loose crumbs", the codfish flakes, a little more of the cooking oil and, finally, the sous vide eggs or poached eggs seasoned with fleur de sel and pepper, and serve with the olives.
Vítor Sobral | Confit of codfish in extra virgin olive oil, broad bean cream, sundried tomato and mint
Ingredients (for 10 people)
Codfish:
- 2kg de bacalhau demolhado em lombos2kg codfish loins, desalted
- 10 unpeeled garlic cloves
- Allspice, to taste
- 20g ginger, sliced
- Fresh chilli, to taste
- Thyme, to taste
- Olive oil, to taste
Cream of broad beans:
- 250g frozen broad beans
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 80g leek, chopped
- 200ml chicken stock
- 50ml white wine
- 30g mint, blanched
- 30g sundried tomato, chopped
- 50g bacon, chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
- Sea salt, to taste
- Ground pepper, to taste
- Paprika, to taste
- Mint, to taste
- 2 lemons, degummed
Method
- Place the codfish in extra virgin olive oil (enough to cover half of the codfish), unpeeled garlic, allspice, chilli and ginger. The codfish must be cooked slowly on a very low heat so the oil doesn't burn.
- Stir the bacon, leek, garlic and tomato, cover with the white wine and let it reduce.
- Add the stock, bring to a boil and add the peeled broad beans and mint. Once it boils again, remove, place in a blender and adjust the seasoning. If necessary, pass through a sieve.
- Plate the sauce and place the fish on top, adding the paprika powder, mint and lemon.
Rui Paula | Codfish, chickpea puree and codfish sauce
Ingredients
Codfish:
- 1 codfish loin (300 or 400g)
- 500ml olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
Chickpea puree:
- 200ml olive oil
- 1 head of garlic
- 1kg chickpeas
- Olive oil, to taste
- 2 bay leaves
Codfish sauce:
- 1kg codfish shavings
- 1.5l vegetable-based cream
- 50g onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 50g grated island-type cheese
- Olive oil, to taste
Codfish topping:
- 20g tomato concasse
- 5g dried tomato, chopped
- 10g black olives, chopped
- Olive oil, to taste
- Fleur de sel, to taste
Pickled carrot:
- 1 carrot
- 200ml rice wine vinegar
- 150ml water
- 100g sugar
- 10g fleur de sel
Method
- Remove the bones and skin from the codfish. Crush the olive oil and garlic. Season the codfish with garlic, olive oil and bay leaf. Bake the codfish at 200°C for 12 minutes.
- For the chickpea puree, soak the chickpeas for 12 hours. Boil in water with olive oil and one bay leaf. Skim whenever necessary. Once cooked, set aside a few chickpeas to peel. Crush the rest with garlic olive oil and fleur de sel. If necessary, add a little of the cooking water to add when beating.
- For the sauce, place the codfish shavings in the oven for 15 minutes at 180ºC. Slice the onion and garlic and sauté in olive oil with the bay leaf. Add the codfish shavings, the cream and simmer slowly for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, cover with foil and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Sieve, add the cheese and grind. Adjust salt.
- For the codfish topping, mix all the ingredients together. Season with olive oil and fleur de sel.
- To finish, add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a pan and stir until everything is dissolved. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Allow to cool. Peel the carrot and slice at 2mm. Place the carrot in the pickle mixture and leave for at least 2 days before using.
Vasco Coelho Santos | Codfish Brandade
Ingredients (for 2 people)
- 300g codfish
- 500g potatoes
- 500ml semi-skimmed milk
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Nutmeg, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Pil pil sauce:
- 50ml olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 300g codfish shavings/bones
Method
-
Soak the codfish, peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Cook the codfish in a pan with the milk and the four crushed garlic cloves.
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Once cooked, remove and place the potatoes in the pan to cook, while shredding the codfish. Set aside the skins and bones.
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When the potato is cooked, remove and mash it to make a puree.
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Mix the potato and the codfish. Add milk if the mixture is too thick. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Set aside.
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For the pil pil sauce, place the olive oil, the peeled garlic cloves and the codfish shavings in a pan. Leave on a low heat. After 20 minutes, strain well, remove the solids, and beat the mixture until smooth. Season with salt.
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Serve the codfish brandade and top with pil pil.
Hélio Loureiro | Confit of codfish fillets in olive oil on bubble and squeak
Ingredients (for 6 people)
Codfish:
- 6 codfish fillets, 120g each, desalted
- 300ml olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- Black peppercorns
- 2 cloves of garlic
Bubble and squeak:
- 600g medium-sized potatoes, boiled in their skins
- 2 small onions
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 300g cooked sprouts
- 200g cooked Portuguese cabbage
- 2 carrots, boiled
- 3 boiled eggs
- 100ml olive oil (part of the oil used to confit the codfish)
- Cumin
- Ground black pepper
- Salt
Method
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Place the codfish on a tray with the crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves and broken peppercorns on top, drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven at 140ºC for 20 minutes.
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For the bubble and squeak, skin the potatoes and cut them into cubes, dice the carrot, and chop the cabbage and sprouts with a knife. Slice the onion into half-moons, chop the garlic, peel the eggs and cut them into half-moons.
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Heat the olive oil with the chopped garlic and onion and let it brown a little. Add the potatoes, eggs and diced carrot, mix well and continue to fry. Then add the cabbage and sprouts. Season with salt, black pepper and cumin. Mix together well so that it appears crushed.
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Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Use two tablespoons to make a quenelle. Place in the bottom of the dish, arranging the confit of codfish on top, and garnishing with roasted cherry tomatoes and rosemary.
