pseudo bacalhau a gomes de sal on the fly

salt cod, potatoes, and onions

or in this case: fresh cod, potatoes, and tomatoes

I've heard stories from back-in-the-day about how salt fish was a common form of perserving when refrigeration was not readily available. Especially dry cabins in Alaska. Those stories highlighted the amazing flavor of the fish and the yearning to experience it once again. From observation, now days salt fish is rarely made or consumed because we can freeze fresh catch for the best of the best at the tips of our fingers. This past winter my partner read 'Cod: The Biography of the Fish that Changed the World', and through stories from his grandpa and this book, he became interested in consuming and making salt cod. And so we began the search for salt cod in Anchorage. We finally found a wooden box packed with one pound of salt cod for $12.95 at the Muldoon 10th & M Seafoods. Great success! We decided to make a Portuguese recipe called bacalhau a gomes de sal. example here This recipe is amazing.

The other night after a long evening of fence building I ravenously wanted salted cod and potatoes. Hungry, but after a weekend of eating sweets & rich food, the traditional bacalhau a gomes de sal seemed too heavy. So, I simplified it for a similar experience and added one of my favorite pairings for cod: tomato.

pseudo bacalhau

  • 1 pound fresh cod

  • 2 pounds potato, sliced in 1/4" thick slices

  • 1 can of diced, unsalted tomatoes, drained

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper

  • 2 tbs dried onions

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 1/4 cup of halved kalamata olives

Assembly:

  1. Boil potatoes add 3/4 tsp salt to boiling water along with the sliced potatoes. Boil until soft. Then drain

  2. Place potatoes down on the bottom of a baking dish

  3. Place cod fillets on top of potatoes

  4. Sprinkle dried onions, remaining 1/4 tsp of salt, and ground pepper over the cod and potatoes

  5. Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil over entire dish

  6. pour the can of drained tomatoes over entire dish

Baking:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

  2. Place the dish in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the fish is cooked

  3. Once the dish is out of the oven sprinkle the kalamata olives over the top.

Enjoy!

More traditional recipe that we used the first time is HERE.