A year ago — almost to the day — I posted about this Portuguese dish called Bacalhau com todos (“with everything”). I was warming up to it at the time because, quite frankly, it needs a warm-up. If you’ve never tried bacalhau before, I would try and talk you out of this dish as it may drive you away from bacalhau forever, and that would be unfair.
Bacalhau com todos was the plate of the day at Mother-in-Law Restaurante. Somehow, today the bacalhau looked more inviting so I put it behind the lens. (By now the family is used to me disappearing with plates or pots to photograph the food in natural light.)
Why photograph it? Because bacalhau is not the easiest fish to love. Actually, bacalhau isn’t like regular fish, it’s been salted and dried into a plank that must be resurrected with two days of water to dilute the salt and bring it back to life. That doesn’t sound terribly appetizing, does it? As I mentioned in my other post, I’ve learned ways to eat it, and to enjoy it. I’ve learned that to offset the somewhat slimy texture (from the salt) and strong taste of bacalhau, you’ll need accompaniments in the form of olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and parsley. Don’t hold back on the vinegar, especially if you’re fond of the flavor combination of salt + vinegar. Don’t skimp on the olive oil, either, it will help with both texture and flavor.
It’s been said that there are bacalhau recipes for every day of the year (and some say there are even more than that). If I may suggest an introduction dish for bacalhau, try bacalhau com natas (“with cream”) or bacalhau à brás first. Both dishes mix bacalhau with potatoes and that reduces its intensity. You’ll need to work up to bacalhau com todos!
As you can see, Ice the Dog has had no need for my strategy…
January 22, 2017
Album: Portugal [Winter 2016/2017]
For more posts/photos of Portuguese food and drink:
http://gailatlarge.com/blog/tag/portuguese-kitchen
https://www.pinterest.com/gailatlarge/portuguese-food-drink/
https://www.instagram.com/gailatlarge/