# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Cooking, Food Storage, & Preserving > Recipes Only >  Bacalhau a bras

## Blasfemo

OK this is one of my favorit recipes. I have done it with several other variants but i leave you the original traditional Portuguese recipe and you can go from there.

*Bacalhau á Bras*

1KG potatoes

600GR COdFish (hint = use the lower less valuable parts of the cod fish if you boil it or any other way will have low salt and tasteless and this way you can season it and still make a delicious dish!)

3 onions

2 garllic pieces

6 eggs

Olive oil - q.b

Parsley - q.b (a lot in my case)

Salt and pepper - q.b

Dark olives 


Peel and cut the potatoes in long, thick match sticks, make sure they are not very thin so they get soft inside once lightly fried... 

Heat the olive oil in a large skille add your onion sliced then the salt and and the garlic in small thin slices. Wait until the onions are translucent, add you cod fish (carefully remove bones if any, and if your picky the pieces of skin)  flake the cod also, stir-fry the flaked cod for 10 minutes or so, if it starts to stick add a little water.

meanwhile beat the eggs in a bowl, and add you fried potatoes to the mix of cod\onions, after add you eggs over it and you pepper and let it cook for some minutes, this is a matter of taste imo some like the eggs more raw some more cooked i suggest a litle on the raw side.

Once all is added cut you Parsley in small pieces over a table and spread it over before you serve. Add your olives over each plate and thats it.

Have fun!

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## Rick

I'm sure glad you didn't say Enjoy.

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## Ken

> I'm sure glad you didn't say Enjoy.


Poor man. You've clearly led a sheltered life when it comes to experiencing great food. So sad that you've deprived yourself of so many wonderful meals.  :Innocent: 

This dish (I prepare it a bit differently) is outstanding. I use dry salted cod (must be soaked overnight in two changes of water) and add loads of sauteed hot banana pepper strips on top.

A great variation is Bacalhau à Gomes De Sa. Since I'm not that wild about potatos, I omit them and double up on the cod. Goes great with a side of rice.  :Smile:  Yeah, I add sauteed hot banana pepper strips to this one, too.

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Bac...sserole-228756

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## pete lynch

I stopped at the eggs. It sounds like a giant omelette. Or that stuff you make with leftover spaghetti. Fish, eggs...no thanks.

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## crashdive123

> Poor man. You've clearly led a sheltered life when it comes to experiencing great food. So sad that you've deprived yourself of so many wonderful meals. 
> 
> This dish (I prepare it a bit differently) is outstanding. I use dry salted cod (must be soaked overnight in two changes of water) and add loads of sauteed hot banana pepper strips on top.
> 
> A great variation is Bacalhau à Gomes De Sa. Since I'm not that wild about potatos, I omit them and double up on the cod. Goes great with a side of rice.  Yeah, I add sauteed hot banana pepper strips to this one, too.
> 
> http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Bac...sserole-228756


See post #44 - it might 'splain things.

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## Ken

> I'm sure glad you didn't say Enjoy.





> I stopped at the eggs. It sounds like a giant omelette. Or that stuff you make with leftover spaghetti. Fish, eggs...no thanks.


I'm tellin' ya', you don't know what you're missing. That's okay. It keeps the price of cod down for the rest of us.  :Innocent: 

There's a very large Portuguese population in Southeastern New England. That dish, and others like it, is served in many fine restaurants. 

And now, here's another recipe (again, I do mine a bit different) *JUST FOR RICK!*  :Smile: 

*Octopus Stew (Polvo Guisado)*

Purple stew" is what someone called this when they inquired about an octopus recipe popular with the Portuguese. The color purple comes in to play when cooks use red wine in the dish instead of white. It is a matter of preference.

Day 1

* 2 1/2 pounds cleaned octopus (fresh or thawed)
* 1 cup white or red wine
* 1 tbsp coaarse salt or to taste
* 1/2 tsp ground white or black pepper or to taste
* 4 to 5 tbsp crushed red pepper paste (pimenta moida)
* 2 bay leaves

Cut octopus into large pieces, about 2-inches long, and place in a bowl. Season with the salt and pepper. Add the remaining ingredients. Turn to coat evenly, cover and chill overnight. (You will notice that I am not instructing you to beat the octopus with a stick to tenderize it. Some Portuguese cooks still do this and you can if you wish.)

Day 2

* 1/2 cup or olive oil as needed
* 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
* 2 heads garlic, thinly sliced or coarsely chopped
* big handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
* 4 medium potatoes, peeled, cut in 1 1/2-inch pieces
* cornstarch slurry(1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp water)

1. Reserving the marinade, transfer octopus to another separate bowl.

2. Pour just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet. Fry the onions until golden. There should be a brown caramelized coating on the bottom of the skillet (called a fond by professionals). Add the garlic and parsley.

3. When the garlic is aromatic,toss in the octopus. When it starts to take on some color, recover. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it sweat for 30 minutes. It will release a lot of water.

4. Add the potatoes and continue to cook on medium-low for another 30 min. Test the fattest piece. If it is still chewy or tough, let it cook some more (around but not usually over 30 min.)

5. Anytime the liquid looks like it is evaporating, add the reserved marinade in small amounts. Thicken the liquid with a cornstarch slurry. If you overcook it, it will shrink to almost nothing but if you don't cook it enough it will be tough. 

*Enjoy!!*

Total cooking time: about 1 1/2 hours. Serves 2-4

http://www.tvkeyzforums.com/showthread.php?t=52271

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## Ken

> See post #44 - it might 'splain things.


Crash?  Post #44?  Where would that be?

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## crashdive123

Why here of course.  http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ighlight=enjoy

 :Blushing:  :Blushing:  :Blushing:

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## Ken

> See post #44 - it might 'splain things.


Same guy that doesn't eat liverwurst, right?   :Innocent:

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## crashdive123

I love liverwurst.

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## Ken

> I love liverwurst.


Not you, I meant that guy Rick.

If memory serves me correctly, we both expressed our love for liverwurst recently.  And you, Crashdive, actually turned it into a challenge of sorts.  http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...&postcount=161  :Innocent:

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## Blasfemo

*Rick and Lynch*

My mother is a cheff and i sure did not eat this before i was 22 YEARS old, because i always thought, wtf cod fish fry potatoes (i hate potato) and eggs semi cooked, nah this must taste like ****...

Now i post the recipe, i DARE you to make like is written and AFTER you have it then you can say this or that until that time its pure speculation... like so many other traditional dishes this one took years for me to try now i dont go without it... i mean cmon guys try to keep an open mind there is a lot that separates us from one part of the globe to the other, and i do think most people will find it awesome should they like the ingredients...

*Ken* i knew you would like this and i figured it would be one thing you also do (or your mom) for a different meal once and again...

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## pete lynch

I understand what you are saying, Blasfemo. I couldn't bring myself to eat stuffed peppers until I was in my thirties. There are many dishes (octopus for example) that I don't ever see myself eating. Nor will I ever suck the brains out of a crawfish. 
Now that I've said that, the fish and eggs don't sound all that bad....

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## Ken

> I understand what you are saying, Blasfemo. I couldn't bring myself to eat stuffed peppers until I was in my thirties. There are many dishes (octopus for example) that I don't ever see myself eating. Nor will I ever suck the brains out of a crawfish. 
> Now that I've said that, the fish and eggs don't sound all that bad....


Pete, it's like this..........  

Many of my friends have tried octopus without knowing what it was.  They asked, and all I would tell them was that it was a type of fish.

They all loved it.

Don't you eat fried calamari?   :Innocent:

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## pete lynch

No, I use it as bait to catch real fish.  :Smile:

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## Blasfemo

well for what is worth im on the octopus lovers team! in fact i eat almost all stuff that moves snails and other stuff and i like almost all of it, most times i did not like my first aproach... octopus was a 3 timer, but i finally got the hang of cooking it in a nice manner... will share later on a recipe. 

I also use it with my father for bait to catch   White seabream  and  European seabass" and this are my favourite catch.

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## Justin Case

@ Pete,,  I love stuffed peppers  !  mmmm,,  Haven't had that in a long time,

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## Ken

> @ Pete,, I love stuffed peppers ! mmmm,, Haven't had that in a long time,


Take a risk.  Try using salmon instead of hamburger.

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## pete lynch

Or corned beef hash.  
There is a El Gigante supermarket in my town with the absolutely best produce anywhere around here. When I wait at the butcher's counter to get my skirt steaks I always catch myself staring at the 15lb octopus spread out in the display case. 
Yo! did that thing move?!! 
You are correct, you'd have to trick me into eating any kind of cephalopod. Maybe hide it in a stuffed pepper?  :Smile:

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## Justin Case

> Take a risk.  Try using salmon instead of hamburger.


Hmmm,,  I do like Salmon  :Sailor:

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